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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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NOTES ON WASHINGTON 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON, 



OR 



SIX YEARS AT THE NATIONAL 
CAPITAL. 



BY 



JANE W. GEMMILL. 



/hfc 19 ^333 




PHILADELPHIA: 

E. CLAXTON & COMPANY 

930 Market Street. 
1884. 



/ 



coptriqht: 

JANE W. GEMMILL. 

1883. 



COLLINS, PRINTKK. 



PREFACE 



I HAVE not attempted to write a history of Wash- 
ington in the following pages, nor to closely follow 
the march of events. My attention has been more 
particularly directed toward places and subjects of 
general interest, and likely to prove entertaining to 
those who, by reason of residing at a great distance, 
or from want of opportunity, are unable to visit 
the Capital. Of the events that occurred during 
my sojourn of six years, I have noted only the most 
remarkable. Some of these Notes were originally 
published in the National Republican^ of Washington 
City. 

J. W. G. 

September 4, 1883. 



CONTENTS 











Page 


I. 


The City 9 


11. 


Capitol 






II 


III. 


An Historic Scene . 






28 


IV. 


Departmental Liee . 






• 31 


V. 


Negroes 






36 


VI. 


Mrs. Hayes 






. 45 


VII. 


Street Scenes . 






48 


VIII. 


Historical Houses . 






54 


IX. 


Corcoran Art Gallery 






67 


X. 


President Garfield . 






73 


XL 


Society 






81 


XII. 


Churches . 






95 


XIII. 


Parks and Streets . 






no 


XIV. 


The White House 






119 


XV. 


The Louise Home 






132 



viii 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


XVI. 


Department of Agriculture 


. 136 


XVII. 


State, War, and Navy Departments 


146 


XVIIL 


Post-Office Department . 


• 153 


XIX. 


U. S. Treasury .... 


169 


XX. 


National Museum 


182 


XXI. 


Patent Office .... 


195 


XXII. 


Government Printing Office . 


202 


XXIII. 


Works of Art . 


209 


XXIV. 


Congressional Cemetery . 


229 


XXV. 


Washington Monument 


233 


XXVI. 


Soldiers' Home .... 


252 


XXVII. 


Environs ..... 


256 


XXVIII. 
Index 


Mount Vernon .... 


294 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON 



THE CITY. 



T T was John Randolph, I believe, who said that 
-■- Washington is '' a city of magnificent distances," 
to which he might add, were he living now, magnifi- 
cent residences and magnificent public buildings. 

Everything is upon a grand scale. The broad 
avenues are broader than those of any other city I 
have seen. Acres and acres of highly cultivated 
land are inclosed in parks and public grounds. 
Whole squares are taken up by imposing piles of 
granite and marble. Beautiful vistas open in every 
direction — terminating here with a handsome work 
of art, there with a stately building, or finally lost 
to view in the mist and hills beyond the city. 

The location is remarkably attractive. On the 
south is the broad Potomac River; on the east the 
Anacostia, or Eastern Branch; and on the north and 

2 



lO * NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

west a circle of beautifully wooded hills. The surface 
is very undulating, but the elevations and depressions 
so gradual one scarcely realizes how much the alti- 
tude varies at different points. 

The city abounds with places of interest to the 
sojourner or tourist, and one may while away days 
and even weeks and not begin to exhaust their 
treasures. And then, too, all these places are free! 
Lovers of art have free access three days in the 
week to galleries of painting and statuary. Exten- 
sive museums stored with relics, minerals and curi- 
osities are open to all who care to enter. The 
Congressional Library is open every day in the week 
(with the exception of public holidays) to the student 
or reader ; who can sit in quiet nooks and enjoy the 
rich feast spread before him. 

Public business is conducted upon a* grand scale, 
and the several departments, with their miles of 
tessellated corridors, busy clerks and rush of im- 
portant business, afford quite as much entertainment 
as the places specially designed for the purpose. 

The Capitol, the old houses, the churches, ceme- 
teries and environs each have an interest of their 
own, and the incidents and legends forming a part 
of their history are well worth hearing. 



II. 



CAPITOL. 



T T O W very interesting the Capitol is ! And yet 
^ ^ one can scarcely define what this great in- 
terest consists in. It is not in the marble walls, 
Corinthian columns and graceful dome. Not in the 
works of art — for the collection is meagre, and, with 
some few exceptions, decidedly commonplace. Not 
in the elaborate gilding, tasteful frescoes and choice 
mosaics; for in these things many private residences 
in the country far surpass it. Not in the vast pro- 
portions of the rotunda, nor in the mysterious re- 
cesses of the crypt. I think it is more in the senti- 
ment than the reality. The historical associations 
no doubt lend an interest; then, too, the national 
pride is gratified in finding such a stately building 
for the meetings of Congress — the great Sun around 
which the whole political system revolves, the en- 
gine as it were which starts and moves every part of 



12 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

the Governmental machinery. There is also a sense 
of ownership. It is our Capitol ; we helped to rear 
it, or if we did not our fathers and grandfathers did, 
and therefore ours by right of inheritance. 

How extremely interesting it is to sit in the gal- 
leries and look down upon the two houses of Con- 
gress in session ! How pleasant to listen to the 
debates and to become personally acquainted with 
the men whose names have been so familiar to us 
through the public press ! To see our hero of many 
political battles hold the Senate or House in close 
attention by his eloquence, and to find instead of 
being disenchanted, our admiration for him increased 
threefold ! 

There is great pleasure always in walking about 
the old Hall of Representatives, and in imagination 
going over the past and recalling the exciting scenes 
enacted there during the years immediately preced- 
ing the late war. 

It is so very contracted in space, we cannot cease 
to wonder where the audience was seated, which 
crowded in during that memorable two months 
balloting for Speaker in 1856. It is a handsome 
apartment, and quite appropriate for the purpose to 
which at present applied, viz., Statuary Hall. The 



CAPITOL. 1 3 

statues of a number of distinguished men are col- 
lected there ; among them Green, Williams, Clinton, 
Trumbull, Sherman, Winthrop, Adams, Allen, Jef- 
ferson, Hamilton, and Lincoln ; also the mosaic 
portrait of Lincoln — the gift of an Italian city to the 
United States — and a beautiful allegorical clock. 
The design of this clock is unique. The figure of 
History is standing in a winged car or chariot, which 
represents Time passing over the globe, and in her 
hand a scroll upon which she inscribes passing 
events. The wheel of the car forms the dial-plate 
of the clock. The whole is cut from fine Carrara 
marble and cost ^2000. 

The hall is Grecian in design, with a dome sup- 
ported by twenty-two columns of variegated marble. 
These are highly polished and finished with capitals 
of Carrara marble. The floor is inlaid with blocks 
of black and white marble. 

One enters the Supreme Court room with a feel- 
ing of awe — not inspired though by the presence of 
the august body belonging there — but by the knowl- 
edge it was in this hall Webster, Clay, Calhoun, 
Clayton and the other great men contemporary with 
them, directed national affairs and exhibited that 
wonderful brilliancy of intellect which so justly en- 



14 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



titled them to be ranked as stars of the first magni- 
tude in the pohtical firmament. 

So much has happened in the history of our coun- 
try since their time, it seems as though they must 
have hved and died ages ago ; and yet I am con- 
stantly meeting with persons who enjoyed the privi- 
lege of hearing them speak in this room, and of 
witnessing many scenes that have become historical, 
and they are not very old persons either. They 
always become enthusiastic when speaking of Mr. 
Webster's eloquence, and of his appearance upon 
the floor. How he would throw his shoulders back, 
expand his chest and roll out his mighty sentences, 
his black eyes gleaming all the while like great coals 
of fire. 

They all without exception dwell upon the point 
of Mr. Webster being a plain speaker, and how 
greatly surprised those persons w^ere — who expected 
him to indulge in high-sounding rhetorical phrases, 
and beautiful imagery far above the -ordinary com- 
prehension — when they heard him speak. 

It is related of a countr^^man then living in Vir- 
ginia, who having heard of the great orator at Wash- 
ington, determined the next time business called 
him to the city, to go to the Capitol to hear him. 



CAPITOL. 1 5 

The opportunity soon ofifered and he took his seat 
in the gallery. He had not been there very long 
when a Senator arose and commenced speaking. 

The stranger, who did not know Mr. Webster by 
sight, became very much interested in what he was 
saying, so much so, that he turned to his neighbor 
and asked the name of the speaker. "Webster," 
was the answer. "Ah, no," returned the stranger, 
" it cannot be Webster, for that man has not said a 
blamed word yet I could not easily understand !" 

"Comparisons are odious," I very well know, and 
one never gets any thanks for drawing them ; but, 
evidently the leaders of that period must have been 
greatly over-rated and those of the present time 
under-rated ; or, the Senate of thirty years ago was 
a far more able body than that of to-day. 

It may not be admitted by all, but nowadays 
brains, learning, and legal experience do not seem 
to be of half as much importance in making a man 
eligible for a seat as gold. The gold-weighted mem- 
ber is usually harmless, and rarely becomes a leader, 
yet he makes his presence felt, and by his presence 
disbars another from entering who in time might 
become a bright and shining light. 

The Capitol as it stands to-day is a grand monu- 



1 6 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ment to republican progress and liberality. Every- 
one knows there are defects, and many of them quite 
prominent, but these are not due to any stint in the 
expenditures, nor to defects in the original plan of 
the founders. They are due rather to a determina- 
tion upon the part of Congress in the past, to em- 
ploy foreign artists, many of whom were of doubtful 
skill, and also to the peculiar ideas of individuals 
regarding the fitness of things. As is well known, 
many works of art have been accepted and a large 
price paid for them, not on account of their intrinsic 
merit, but because the artist was fortunate enough to 
have a friend upon the purchasing committee, and 
by numerous interviews, some judicious flattery, and 
maybe a terrapin supper, managed to make them all 
believe that the particular painting or statue await- 
ing their decision was quite as artistic as one could 
hope for since the loss of the old masters ! 

When one remembers that the Capitol covers 
three and one-half acres of ground, and that the 
interior is a perfect labyrinth of passages, rooms, 
and recesses, he can readily understand how much 
time and money might be expended upon it without 
making very much show, and also how utterly im- 
possible to give a description that would be at all 



CAPITOL. 17 

satisfactory. The compilers of the guide-books have 
handled the subject with great skill; but one must 
enter the building, spend days and weeks in examin- 
ing the details to form a correct idea of its vastness, 
beauty, and great cost. About the cost much might 
be said, and much speculation indulged in ; probably 
the exact figures cannot be ascertained, but it is safe 
to say from ;^ 15,000,000 to ;^2 5, 000,000 have been 
already expended. 

The dome ^is the crowning beauty of the whole 
pile — without it the building would be flat, insipid, 
and characterless. Jt can be seen from all parts of 
the city and several distant points in the surround- 
ing country: the effect of the setting sun upon it, 
when viewed from these distant points, is sometimes 
very beautiful. The bronze Goddess of Liberty ap- 
pears as though made of burnished gold, and the 
rays of sunlight reflected from the innumerable win- 
dows around the upper part, give it the appearance 
of being brilliantly illuminated with crimson lights. 
Although it is constructed of iron and weighs over 
8,000,000 pounds, it seems to rest like a snowy bub- 
ble in mid air ; and its proportions are so graceful, 
its color so attractive, one never wearies of it, nor 
does it become monotonous and commonplace. 



1 8 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

Entering the rotunda from the east side, the visitor 
passes through the great Bronze Door, modelled by 
Rogers in Rome in 1858, and cast in Munich by 
Von Miller in i860. This door stands nineteen feet 
high and cost ^28,000. The embellishments consist 
of the principal events in the life of Columbus and 
the discovery of America, and are interesting and 
beautiful. 

The smaller bronze door in the main entrance to 
the Senate wing was cast in this country. It is also 
very beautifully embellished in alto relievo with his- 
torical events connected with the establishment of 
our Independence. These doors are very elegant, 
but much of their beauty is obscured by a thick 
coating of dust. Washington being an exceedingly 
dusty city, the tiny particles enter every crevice, and 
constant watchfulness is necessary to keep the sta- 
tues, relievos, and other works of art in the Capitol 
free from them. This duty, however, is not attended 
to as it should be, and I think it would be a good 
thing in Congress to appropriate a certain sum each 
year for the salaries of a corps of sweepers and dust- 
ers, whose duty should be to dust off at least once a 

week, the "Head of Columbus," the feet and ruff of 

• 

Winthrop, the heavy cloak of " Brother Jonathan," 



CAPITOL. 19 

and the statues of other distinguished persons near. 
I am sure the pleasure of sight -seers would be 
greatly increased thereby. A few thousand dollars 
less each year for contested election cases would fur- 
nish the requisite sum. 

Some of the most elaborately decorated parts of 
the Capitol are rarely seen by the public, and so 
badly lighted that when seen, the beauty of the work 
cannot be discerned. This is particularly true of the 
passage and bronze staircase leading to the lobby of 
the Senate. The hallway is richly frescoed in birds, 
foliage, and animals, and much time and labor ex- 
pended upon the work. On account of being below 
the main floor, strangers seldom go there, and it is 
used only by employes and persons intent upon 
business. The latter are usually too much absorbed 
or too hurried to note the beauty of the delicate 
ferns, grasses, and clinging tendrils ; or too indiffer- 
ent to , inquire whether the brilliant bird poised so 
gracefully before them is a robin or a pigeon, or 
whether it hails from the tropics or their neighbor's 
barnyard. And the bronze staircase is so dark one 
cannot see the beautiful embellishments, consisting 
of vines and boughs, laughing Cupids, serpents, and 
spread eagles. 



20 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

The President's Room in the Senate wing is very 
tastefully decorated. The work was done by Bru- 
midi, the Italian artist who spent nearly a lifetime in 
working upon the Capitol. There are large medal- 
lions containing portraits of Washington, Franklin, 
Jefferson, and other illustrious men ; beautiful scroll 
work and numerous allegorical figures. A superb 
chandelier depends from the ceiling, and the room is 
luxuriously furnished. The President uses the room 
the last day or days of a session of Congress, when 
it is necessary to expedite business; and remains 
there with his Cabinet to pass upon and sign such 
bills as meet his approval. 

Another beautiful room is the marble room, used 
by the Senators for receiving their friends. The 
walls are of Tennessee marble, having large mirrors 
inserted, forming panels. The floor is inlaid with 
colored tiles and the roof supported by a double 
row of fluted columns. The mirrors reflect these 
columns and the effect is quite fine. 

When Congress is in session the average visitor 
gives very little attention to the beauties of the Cap- 
itol. He is usually too much absorbed and interest- 
ed in the deliberations going on in the Senate and 
House to spare much time for an examination of 



CAPITOL. 21 

pictures, marbles, and frescoes; and very many pass 
them by without bestowing so much as a thought 
or glance upon them. 

The House of Representatives usually claims the 
largest share of attention, and is always more popu- 
lar than the Senate ; I have observed that at least 
two out of every three find their way to the galleries 
of the former. The first visit is always unsatisfac- 
tory. There is such confusion, such noise, so many 
walking about, so much apparent indifference upon 
the part of members, such a tangle of rules and 
resolutions, and points of order, such a lack of dig- 
nity, the visitor becomes dazed and impatient, and 
frequently disgusted. But after many visits he be- 
comes accustomed to the confusion ; he learns to 
locate prominent members, and catches a glimpse 
here and there of the thread of business ; he reads 
the daily report of the proceedings, and finally be- 
comes deeply interested. It then becomes more fas- 
cinating than any place of amusement ; better than 
the theatre, for the acting at the theatre is only act- 
ing after all, while here, real life; better than the 
circus, for instead of one or two clowns to furnish 
amusement for the audience there are frequently a 
dozen and more. And there is also a pleasurable 



22 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

anticipation before one, never furnished by places of 
amusement — the carefully prepared programme of 
the latter always showing precisely what one is to 
expect; but in the House of Representatives you do 
not know at what moment a storm of excitement 
may burst upon you, which almost lifts you from 
your seat, or what mine may be sprung by an imper- 
ceptible spark to bring confusion and dismay upon 
the floor. Very true, one is obliged to take the bit- 
ter with the sweet, for all the speakers are not elo- 
quent, nor all learned and cultivated. 

Then, too, if you are a lover of history, you enjoy 
looking down upon the scene, and the men whose 
names and legislative acts will help to fill the pages 
of future American history; and you also find keen 
pleasure in noting how strangely history repeats 
itself in each succeeding generation. Sitting in the 
gallery of the House one day, just after reading a 
chapter in Macaulay's History of England, describ- 
ing the scenes and debates in the British House of 
Commons of two hundred years ago, I found myself 
mentally substituting House of Representatives for 
** House of Commons," Republican and Democrat for 
"Whig and Tory," appropriation bill for *'bill of sup- 



CAPITOL. 23 

ply," and surprised to find how nicely the descrip- 
tion suited the scene before me. 

Our Congress though has learned some things to 
perfection, which Parliament had not learned two 
hundred years ago. 

Macaulay says : " It does not appear, however, 
that the parliamentary tacticians of the seventeenth 
century were aware of the extent to which a small 
number of members can, without violating any form, 
retard the course of business." Filibustering has 
been reduced to a science at our Capitol, and it has 
come to be an acknowledged fact, that the skilful 
management of the minority by a capable leader 
can accomplish quite as much as a badly managed 
majority. 

Going from the House of Representatives to the 
Senate, is like going from the torrid to the frigid 
zone, or like going from an uproarious mass-meeting 
to a Friends' meeting, waiting for the Spirit to move 
them. The contrast is so great. Some persons 
enjoy the change, and experience a sense of relief 
upon taking their seat in the gallery of the latter, 
while others are so chilled and depressed by the 
quiet dignity pervading the chamber, they find little 
pleasure in remaining. 



24 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

Upon rare occasions I have seen considerable ex- 
citement manifested in the Senate and applause from 
the galleries break out repeatedly, in spite of threats 
from the presiding officer to have them cleared if it 
were persisted in. 



Three hundred and seventy - one steps to the 
Dome ; but who cares for steps when such a glori- 
ous, beautiful view is opened before him? Who 
thinks of fatigue, when by climbing so high he 
can with a glance take in the whole District of 
Columbia, parts of the States of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia, and with the eye follow the winding Potomac 
many miles on its journey to the sea? 

Looking west, the city — with its spires and parks, 
dancing fountains, wide avenues and handsome pub- 
lic buildings — is spread out before you like a beau- 
tiful picture. Away off in the distance the heights 
of Georgetown, enveloped in haze, form a charming 
background to the picture and keep silent watch over 
the old town nestled in the valley below. Turning 
to the north the Howard University is a prominent 
and pleasing feature of the landscape, and away be- 
yond it the tower and flag of the Soldiers' Home can 



CAPITOL. 



25 



be plainly seen. Like a black line stretching across 
the country is the track of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, and the eye can follow its course for many 
miles. 

During the war this great thoroughfare was the 
artery which supplied the life-blood to the Capital, 
and through it to the nation. How jealously it was 
guarded during those trying times I And though 
the duty was considered dull and monotonous, by 
those desiring an opportunity to win glory in the 
field, it was of equal importance in view of the final 
result. 

If they had the power of speech those iron rails 
might whisper strange stories of the countless mul- 
titude passing over them. They might tell us of 
ambitious statesmen journeying to the Capital 
dreaming of future greatness; of scheming politi- 
cians intent upon gaining their selfish ends ; of 
Presidents on their way to take oath of office and 
receive the confirmation of the love and confidence 
of a happy, intelligent people ; of fair women return- 
ing again and again to the fashionable circle where 
they have reigned with so much grace ; of faithful 
friends with hearts filled with sadness, bearing away 
the inanimate form of some dear one to its last rest- 
3 



26 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ing place, and more than all of that wonderful trans- 
portation of men and munitions of war, which never 
ceased day nor night while the rebellion lasted. 

This road was deeply in debt at the beginning of 
the war, but by the time it had distributed the last 
regiment of soldiers to their homes had a large sur- 
plus on the credit side. 

Looking out over the circle of hills surrounding 
the city, it is hard to realize that not quite a score 
of years ago they were crowned with fortifications, 
and the plains below white with the tents of an en- 
camped army. To-day the hills are beautiful with 
trees and shrubbery decked in their most bewitching 
spring attire, and the slopes are covered with luxu- 
riant pastures in which the lazy cattle brouse unmo- 
lested. Instead of flashing bayonets, the rippling 
waters of the Potomac catch the sunbeams, and with 
a thrill of pleasure we realize " all is quiet along the 
Potomac;" but a different quiet from that wont to 
fly over the wires, sending comfort for the time to 
thousands of anxious homes North and South. It 
is the quiet of peace, and the historic old river flows 
on, forgetting the part it took in that struggle; flows 
on past the city of the dead on Arlington Heights ; 



CAPITOL. 27 

past the ancient town of Alexandria with its grass- 
grown streets ; past the home and tomb of Wash- 
ington ; past happy homesteads, where infant sons 
and daughters are being trained to take the places 
of the fathers and mothers of the present, and, as it 
flows, softly whispers, " Peace ! " 



III. 

AN HISTORIC SCENE. 

March i, 1877. 

^''T^HE Electoral Commission" is a new term 
-■- in American politics. A remarkable in- 
terest has been excited in its deliberations, and I 
think far exceeds that taken in public affairs dur- 
ing the troubled period of sectional animosity preced- 
ing the late war. 

The time for completing its work is being rapidly- 
shortened, and the eyes of the fifty millions of peo- 
ple are turned toward the Capital anxiously awaiting 
the result. The city is filled with strangers, and 
a great crowd has surged around the doors and 
thronged the corridors of the Capitol for several 
days, making it necessary to issue tickets of admis- 
sion to the galleries of the Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

I was fortunate this morning in securing a ticket 
for the latter, and still more fortunate in securing an 



AN HISTORIC SCENE. 29 

eligible seat in the front row of benches on the 
Democratic side of the hall. 

It was an impressive scene when the House came 
to order, and one long to be remembered. Every 
seat was taken upon the floor and in the galleries, 
and every incji of standing room occupied. 

The morning sunbeams, scattered and softened by 
the richly stained glass of the skylight, filled the hall 
with a subdued mellow light. The vivid colors ot 
the National ensign draped back of the Speaker's 
chair; the rich gilding of the cornices and panels, 
and the white robes of the Chaplain, were all in 
keeping with the dramatic aspect of the scene. 

Every grade of society was represented in the 
vast assembly. Learned judges sat shoulder to 
shoulder with plain citizens ; uniformed officers and 
distinguished legislators stood side by side with 
humble laborers ; and mothers, wives, and fair daugh- 
ters availed themselves of every proffered seat. 

Nothing extraordinary, however, occurred until 
the two houses met in joint convention, and at one 
stage of the proceedings, the Senate withdrew to its 
chamber to debate upon the objections to the de- 
cision of the Commission regarding the vote of one 
of the contested States. The debate then became 



30 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



very warm and acrimonious; and the filibusters 
wildly renewed their efforts to prevent the comple- 
tion of the count. 

The Speaker, with pale brow and compressed lips, 
endeavored to maintain corftrol of the House. He 
pounded the gavel vigorously and caUed refractory 
members to order, but the tactics of the filibusters 
made order almost impossible. The time is now so 
short they feel each hour lessens their opportunity, 
and consequently grow more bold and defiant. I 
can never forget the sensations I experienced when 
Representative Beebe, of New York, so far forgot 
himself in the excitement and his efforts to obtain 
recognition, as to leap from desk to desk, his hand 
stretched above his head, clasping a sheet of paper 
which he frantically waved, shouting, Mr. Speaker ! 
Mr. Speaker ! 

The effect upon the House was something inde- 
scribable and the uproar for a few minutes very 
great. The cold chills crept over me, and I noticed 
the ladies seated near me turn pale with excitement. 

The confusion was soon quelled. The Sergeant- 
at-Arms walked down the aisle with his mace, 
which had a magical effect, and in a very short time 
the House proceeded with the business of the day. 



IV. 



DEPARTMENTAL LIFE. 



T^OES anybody outside of Washington have an 
-*-^ idea of what life is in a Government Depart- 
ment ? It is entirely different from any other call- 
ing. First, there is the scramble for appointment, 
the weary waiting and hope deferred day after day ; 
the rushing around after influential friends to urge 
the claim of the applicant for the place desired; in- 
numerable visits and letters to the head of the De- 
partment ; and finally the assignment to duty. 

All this precedes entrance upon official life, whe- 
ther in the capacity of copyist, first, second, or third 
class clerk. 

Then follow the long weary days sitting at a desk 
trying to do something one has never tried before. 
Becoming an object to be stared at and whispered 
about by the other clerks, who are always curious 
to know what kind of hand he or she writes, what 



32 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

State they hail from^ and upon what roll they are 
paid. 

The days, weeks, and months pass and the new- 
comer, if at all bright and capable, begins to under- 
stand the work before him and to feel pretty well 
acquainted with his fellow clerks ; and here comes 
the most trying part of official life. No one, except 
those who have been employed, knows what it is to 
be shut up in a room with the same people seven 
hours, six days every week ; people from as many 
different parts of the country as there are individ- 
uals, and with quite as many different opinions. No 
two with the same religious belief. Some highly 
cultured and some without any culture at all. The 
majority so puffed up with their own importance as 
to imagine great danger to the wheels of Govern- 
ment and probably stoppage, if by chance they 
should die, resign, or be dismissed. 

Conversation never flags for want of a subject, and 
it is enough to turn one's brain to hear the various 
topics introduced and discussed in the course of the 
day, and the different hobbies ventilated. Almost 
every man has a hobby, whatever his position in 
life, but it really seems as if those of the Government 
clerk have no equal outside, 



DEPARTMENTAL LIFE. 33 

The financial schemes introduced from time to 
time are wonderful. It is the sleeping and waking 
dream of the average clerk to become rich, or at 
least independent enough to resign; and yet he 
never for one moment imagines this to be attained 
by self-denial, economy, or small savings. Oh no ! 
Some lucky investment in a lottery ticket is to draw 
a coveted prize, or a good speculation may surprise 
him, or a rise in mining stocks suddenly make him 
a millionaire. 

It is very remarkable how the ideas of the clerk 
change and enlarge after a few years' residence in 
Washington. Away off in his country home a good 
suit was made to do service for more than one sea- 
son, and an interesting book or agreeable companion 
afforded sufficient entertainment for his evenings. 
But after a sojourn there in Government employ he 
must have a new suit for every change of season ; a 
new neck-tie to match each suit, and gloves to match 
the neck-tie ; a cane to match the gloves, a scarf-pin 
to match the cane, and a hat to match all. Every 
evening there must be tickets to the theatre or 
opera, or a carriage to the ball, or a dainty little 
supper at some fashionable cafe. 

If a lady clerk — but the pen must move gently 



34 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



dealing with them, for a large number of the. female 
clerks are noble, self-sacrificing women, forced to 
enter upon this life through loss of father, husband, 
or the demands of dependent little ones, and the 
ouside world has no knowledge of the struggles they 
make, or what privations they endure in providing 
for those loved ones. There are in every office, 
though, some ladies who do not have burdens to 
bear, and of them it has been observed, how entirely 
the womanly weakness for personal adornment takes 
possession. In what dainty costumes they always 
appear, and how they love to display pretty little 
pieces of jewelry and becoming laces ! 

Although the life is a plodding one, and far more 
reality than romance about it, the latter is not alto- 
gether absent ; for more than one Romeo has there 
found his Juliet. Youthful couples thrown so con- 
stantly together frequently become interested in each 
other, and before they are aware the dangerous little 
god has marked them for his own. The other clerks 
enjoy watching the progress of the affaire du ccetir, 
while the love-stricken parties innocently imagine it 
is known only to themselves. After a time — proba- 
bly some day at the close of business — the lady bids 



DEPARTMENTAL LIFE. 35 

adieu to those around her, and quietly remarks she 
is not coming back any more. 

The clerks in the several Departments are far 
from being ignorant, as a class, although some may 
be entitled to the charge. There are poets, histo- 
rians, philosophers, and theologians among them of 
no mean attainments. Various causes have led them 
to the city and to these positions. They have drifted 
thither upon the wave of circumstances from all 
parts of the country; from the bleak, rugged hills of 
New England, and the sunny region of the orange 
and palmetto ; from the mountains and vales of the 
Western Territories and the golden fields of Califor- 
nia. Many boast of an ancestry distinguished in 
this country and the old world. Many at one time 
possessed both wealth and influence. If the story 
of some — for many have a history — could be written 
out it would be more thrilling and interesting than 
the most sensational modern novel. 

The life is a very good one for disciphne, and two 
or three years of such employment — but not any 
longer, for after that time a clerk is apt to settle 
down in a rut and remain there — two or three years 
of such discipline helps to form character and gives 
a man better command of himself 



V. 

NEGROES. 

'T^HE leap from slavery to citizenship made by 
-*- the negroes of America was an extraordinary 
one, and their deportment under the changed con- 
dition highly commendable. In Northern towns and 
cities where they are found in small numbers, they 
have almost lost their identity as a distinct race, for 
their ways of living, acting, and general characteris- 
tics are so much like their white brethren, they ex- 
cite no comment whatever. But in Washington, the 
Mecca toward which thousands flocked during the 
war, and have continued to come ever since, one 
finds all the peculiarities, habits, and language of the 
negro of the slave period. 

Their condition is somewhat improved in the ma- 
jority of cases, but very many live in miserable cab- 
ins or shanties, and crowd into them in such large 
numbers, they seem much more like bees in a hive 



NEGROES. 37 

than human beings. Others in better circumstances 
have comfortable houses, are well clothed, and appa- 
rently quite prosperous. 

Then, again, there is a still higher class, who live 
in fine houses, and surround themselves with the 
luxuries and refinements of life. They dress in the 
latest style, attend influential churches, frequent the 
concert, lecture, and theatre, and in every way seem 
to be quite the equal of the white people. 

It is in the first-named class though that we find 
the traits and characteristics of the real negro. It is 
also the largest class. 

Both men and women are ignorant, stupid, super- 
stitious, indolent, and improvident to a remarkable 
degree. Give one a dollar and he will immediately 
walk to the nearest market and invest part of it in 
some expensive article of food and the remainder in 
some flashy article of dress, never thinking nor car- 
ing if any more dollars are to come to him on the 
morrow, or ever again. Numbers of the women are 
employed as servants in families, by the day — that 
is, they go to the house of their employer in the 
morning and return to their own contracted rooms 
and houses at night. This kind of service has had 
a tendency to induce pilfering in a small way. I 



38 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

have observed it is almost the invariable custom 
among them to carry a basket or a bundle, and upon 
leaving at night for their homes, this basket or bun- 
dle is generally well freighted. Many remarkable 
developments have been made by suspicious house- 
keepers insisting upon an examination of the basket. 

Their churches and societies — for every negro 
belongs either to a church or a society — are objects 
of affection and solicitude. These societies are bene- 
ficial and have really done much good. By paying 
a trifle each month towards the general fund, the 
members are entitled to ;^3 per week in case of sick- 
ness, and a decent burial in case of death — and it is 
just here the Washington negro is in his glory — if 
there is any one thing he dotes upon more than an- 
other, it is a funeral, a real first-class funeral ! — with 
flowers, music, and carriages, and a long uniformed 
train of the members of his " 'ciety." 

These funerals usually take place on Sunday, and 
it is a great disappointment if the demise of a brother 
occurs on a Monday or Tuesday, making it impos- 
sible to postpone the last sad rites to the next Sun- 
day, and so have an opportunity for the beloved 
display. 

The evening service at their churches rarely begins 



NEGROES. : 39 

Sabbath evenings before nine o'clock, and it is well 
on to ten and sometimes eleven o'clock before they 
are well warmed up "and in the spirit." They enjoy 
their freedom too well to give heed to the nine 
o'clock bell, which still tolls each night as it did 
twenty-five years ago, to summon the slaves to 
their respective homes. 

I was returning home one evening from rather a 
protracted service at one of the fashionable churches 
in the upper part of the city, and happened to pass 
by one of these colored churches where the meeting 
was in full blast. I paused some time on the side- 
walk and listened to what was going on within. 
The door was wide open, guarded by a colored dea- 
con, and the little building crowded to its utmost 
capacity. The sable minister was praying in a loud 
tone, the words coming so strong and so fast it was 
impossible to understand one word he said, but his 
hearers inside evidently understood him, for several 
females were shouting vigorously, and at short inter- 
vals would utter a piercing shriek. It was just such 
a scene as I once witnessed years ago among the 
slaves in a Southern State. 

The negro is ubiquitous in Washington. Start a 
brass band from the Capitol, and there will not be 



40 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON 



three taps upon the drum before a horde of colored 
men, women, and children will surround it and will 
follow all day if it continues to play. 

Upon public occasions they take possession of the 
sidewalks, and, in their eagerness to see and hear, 
press forward so persistently that nothing short of a 
battery loaded with grape-shot could make any im- 
pression upon them. 

If a circus comes to town — but here words fail 
me, to describe the delight, enjoyment, and golden 
opportunities the average negro manages to procure 
from the show. 

They are very social in their nature and are also 
very loquacious, and the amount of visiting done by 
them and the talk that naturally follows, is some- 
what astonishing. 

If you have a servant in your kitchen you may 
safely count upon her receiving half-a-dozen calls 
every day, and the number of relatives she possesses 
outnumbers the " cousins" of Bridget two to one. 

The old-fashioned forms of address, such as 
<^ Uncle," "Aunt," and "Mammy," once used by 
the negroes to each other, and by the younger mem- 
bers of the family where they were employed — have 
entirely disappeared, and the more formal terms of 



NEGROES. 41 

" Mr.," " Mrs.," and " Miss" are adhered to with as 
much punctiHousness as in the highest circles of 
good society. To use the former style now might 
cause some awkward mistakes — as was the case 
with a young lady one day at the Capitol. She had 
been waiting some time in the reception-room, try- 
ing to send a note to a Senator on the floor, but 
had not been successful in doing so. Seeing a very 
genteel, benevolent -looking colored man going in 
the direction of the Senate Chamber, she impulsively 
called to him, " Uncle ! will you be kind enough to 
give this note to Senator ?" He bowed po- 
litely, smiled, and said he would. She was some- 
what disconcerted, when she learned a few minutes 
later, she had called upon Senator Bruce to perform 
the service. 

I have been very much interested in learning 
* where the old slave "pens" were located, and found, 
upon questioning quite a number of persons, that 
not one in fifty could give me any idea whatever of 
their locality, although they had lived in the city, 
many of them thirty or forty years ; showing that 
the trade in human chattels was such an ordinary 
every-day business that they did not know nor care 
where carried on. 
4 



42 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



I 



After many inquiries I finally learned that the 
largest "pen" was on Eighth Street Southwest, be- 
tween B and C Streets. The dwelling occupied by the 
trader at the time is still standing, but has been so 
changed and improved it bears no resemblance what- 
ever to the former roughcast, yellow-washed farm- 
house of thirty years ago. The spot where the 
"pen" actually stood, is now covered by a palatial 
residence, the property of a Methodist clergyman. 

Selling slaves in the District of Columbia was 
prohibited in the year 1850, but the "pens" con- 
tinued in existence right along up to the beginning 
of the war. An old slave told me he had seen as 
many as seventy-five slaves taken out at once from 
the pen on Eighth Street, chained together and 
marched down to the boat to be taken to Alexandria 
to be sold. Sometimes they would be taken just 
across the Long Bridge ; and frequently, to evade 
the law, to Bladensburg. 

Slavery was abolished in the District by act of 
Congress of April 16, 1862, and ^^ 1,000,000 appro- 
priated to reimburse the owners for their loss. Be- 
fore obtaining the money, though, the owner was 
obliged to furnish proof of his loyalty, and the slave 
Avas required to go to the City Hall to be appraised 



NEGROES. 



43 



by Commissioners appointed for the purpose. An 
eye-witness of the scenes around the City Hall at 
that time relates many amusing and touching inci- 
dents. Each slave was questioned closely as to 
what kind of labor he was capable of performing, in 
order to ascertain his value. In their eagerness to 
appear to as much advantage, and to be appraised 
as high as possible, they gave many quaint and 
laughable answers. 

There are at present nearly sixty thousand ne- 
groes in the District, the most distinguished of 
whom, of course, is Mr. Frederick Douglas. The 
whole history of this remarkable man reads more 
like romance than real life, and one needs to see him 
in the flesh to be convinced there is really such a 
personage. He is extremely venerable in appear- 
ance, dignified in manner, and possesses fine conver- 
sational powers. Mr. Douglas finds little congenial- 
ity with the people of his own race, and enjoys the 
society of his white brethren far more than that of 
his own color. 

The morality, or rather the want of it, among the 
colored people is attracting much attention at pre- 
sent. They have not advanced as rapidly as was 
hoped for, after being firmly set upon their feet in 



44 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



the way of education and self- improvement, and 
there is opportunity and need for much missionary 
work among them. 

They are quite as imitative as the Chinese, but, 
unfortunately, imitate the vices and foibles of the 
whites rather than their virtues. They have an in- 
ordinate love of dress and finery, and will leave no 
stone unturned in their efforts to procure it. The 
appearance of some of the younger women rigged 
out in sheer muslins, dainty laces, and sweeping 
plumes, regardless of neatness or appropriateness, is 
sometimes a perfect burlesque upon the costume of 
a fashionable city belle. 



^ 



VI. 



MRS. HAYES. 



January, 1 88 1. 

*]\ /r RS. HAYES is a charming hostess and wel- 
-*- ' ^ comes visitors to the White House with cor- 
diahty and grace. There is a pleasant Western 
heartiness in her greeting which impresses one very- 
much with her sincerity, and makes you feel you are 
the invited expected guest instead of a curious 
visitor. This afternoon she held her first reception 
for the season, and was assisted by Mrs. Secretary 
Evarts, Mrs. Secretary Sherman, and several young 
ladies from distant States. 

Mrs. Hayes was very tastefully attired in a rich 
black silk dress, en traine, and trimmed with jet 
passementerie — the neck cut V- shape and filled in 
with soft Spanish lace. In her glossy black hair 
was a silver comb. 

Mrs. Evarts was richly dressed in black velvet. 
Mrs. Sherman wore an old gold satin petticoat with 



^5 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

a waist and court train of black velvet. Her cos- 
tume was brightened by a bouquet de corsage of red 



roses. 



I wandered for some time through the conserva- 
tory enjoying the fragrance of the violets and helio- 
tropes, and quietly noting the distinguished guests 
passing to and fro ; among them were Sir Edward 
Thornton and Lady Thornton, and the Japanese 
Minister and wife, M. and Madame Yoshida. The 
latter was quite fashionably attired in a brown silk 
dress, seal-skin sacque, and a velvet bonnet with a 
bunch of bright flowers nestled under the brim. 
Both she and her husband have long since discarded 
the native dress. 

Being the 8th of January and the anniversary of 
the battle of New Orleans, the full-length portrait of 
General Jackson— occupying a conspicuous place in 
the centre corridor— was beautifully trimmed with 
white and crimson camelias and festoons of a rare 
and delicate fern. 

Mrs. Hayes makes a point of noticing the chil- 
dren who come to call upon her, and the little ones 
are always delighted with the attention, and inno- 
cently imagine the lovely hostess would be greatly 
disappointed if they failed to come. 



MJ^S. HAYES. 



A7 



This afternoon a friend of mine, accompanied by 
her httle son, after being presented to Mrs. Hayes 
was about to pass on, thinking it useless to introduce 
the child also ; but Mrs. Hayes was not to be put 
off in that way, and turning to the child, extended 
her hand and smilingly said, " Well, my little fellow, 
did you too come to my reception ?" He returned 
her salutation, evidently very much pleased, but did 
not say anything. When they were outside of the 
mansion he turned to his mother with a beaming face 
and very naively remarked, *' Mamma, Mrs. Hayes 
was real glad I came to her reception this afternoon, 
wasn't she?" 



VII. 

STREET SCENES. 



I 



T was the favorite amusement of a celebrated 
writer to sit by a window at the eventide on 
one of the crowded thoroughfares of London and 
watch the passing throng hurrying to their respec- 
tive homes. Tales of woe, joy, gladness, hope, 
sorrow, .and fear could be read upon the different 
faces as plainly as if written there in bold charac- 
ters. Princes of the blood, nobles, careworn mer- 
chants, happy youth, fashion, and old age passed I 
rapidly before him, each proving an interesting 
theme for his facile pen. The streets of Washing- 
ton, though entirely different from a London scene, 
are quite as interesting. 

There are no princes, no nobility, no millionaire j 
merchants I admit; but there are distinguished men, 
fair women, youth, beauty, sorrow, and suffering to 



STREET SCENES. 



49 



be seen ; for human nature is very much the same 
everywhere. 

Take Pennsylvania Avenue some bright, pleasant 
winter afternoon, and probably the very first person 
you will meet is a distinguished Senator or Member 
who has been making the halls of the Capitol ring 
with his eloquence, and whose speech, while he 
walks, is being flashed over the wires from city to 
city and town to town throughout the country ; and 
yet he is going quietly to his home in as plain mat- 
ter-of-fact way as yonder weary laborer returning 
from his day's toil. 

Here comes a fine lady, attired in a rich velvet 
dress most elaborately trimmed. A handsome man- 
tle covers her shoulders and a fashionable hat graces 
her tossing head. The complacent air with which 
she walks is amusing, and more so when it is known 
the dress is entirely new to her. She is the wife of 
a Western politician, and in her far-off country home 
her best gown was nothing better than plain cash- 
mere, and jewels she never thought of wearing, but 
''when at Rome do as Romans do," and as every- 
body in her circle wears fine clothes, she should do 
the same, and what does it matter if the style is a 



50 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

little overdrawn? she is satisfied, and others should 
be as well. 

Right behind her is a tall, slender lady with a pale, 
sad face ; her dress is of the cheapest kind, but the 
spotless collar and cuffs, the air of quiet refinement 
proclaim the real lady. Her history is touching — 
do you care to hear it ? The daughter of a brilliant 
man, who once made his mark in public life, she was 
at one time the pet and joy of a bright, happy home. 
A turn of the wheel of fortune deprived the father 
of wealth, and death soon after claiming him for a 
victim, there was nothing left for the daughter but 
to take up the burden of life for herself and widowed 
mother. She procured a clerkship in one of the De- 
partments, and has faithfully performed the duties ; 
but being " only a woman" her salary is very small, 
and the struggle to make one salary do the work of 
two for the little household has paled the cheek and \ 
saddened the brow. 

What a marked contrast in the young man walk- 
ing so leisurely twirling a cane and puffing a fra- 
grant cigar ! He, too, is a clerk, but you would 
never think so, for the ** nobby" suit, delicate gloves, 
and air of fashion indicate a man of leisure and 
means. He might be taken for the son of a million- 



STREET SCENES. 



51 



aire, or probably an attache of a foreign legation, 
and if strangers were told he is only a Government 
clerk on a salary of ;^I200 a year, they would im- 
agine Washington a paradise for poor people, where 
so much style can be supported upon so small an 
income. But they do not know of the unpaid bills 
and cool assurance of this young man, or they would 
understand it all, 

A carriage dashes past; in it is seated a beautiful 
woman ; the lovely complexion, hazel eyes, and soft 
waving hair are fair to look upon ; the rich India 
shawl, thrown so carelessly about her, and the 
creamy white bonnet exceedingly becoming. She 
is the wife of a young and rising Member, and 
tasting the sweets of Washington life — which to an 
ambitious woman are so delightful. What the end 
will be no one can tell, but history is' constantly re- 
peating itself, and the past has revealed the happy, 
loving young wife, after ten years of fashionable life 
at the Capital, transformed from the gentle, domestic 
woman into the vain frivolous creature of society. 
This lady has plunged into the whirlpool, and Fash- 
ion has no more faithful devotee. 

Any number of bonnes are to be seen in jaunty 
aprons and ruffled caps, wheeling handsome little 



52 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

carriages with bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked occupants ; 
and the amusing part, not one in ten are French, 
but either first saw the light in Erin's Emerald Isle 
or "away down in Dixie" among the cotton fields, 
rice plantations, and canebrakes. 

The novel spectacle of a Chinese of high rank in 
his native dress walking the streets surrounded by a 
crowd of ragged negro boys, would create a sensa- 
tion in any other city, but the sight is such a com- 
mon one on Pennsylvania Avenue it excites nothing 
more than a smile. 

Now comes the " office-seeker," one of the pecu- 
liarities of the streets of Washington. We meet 
him at every turn — around the steps and doors of 
the hotel, in the Departments, at the Capitol — he is 
everywhere ; and it is sad to see the eagerness with 
which he clutches every ray o/ hope. He implicitly 
-believes all promises made him, and remains day 
after day, week after week, waiting for the antici- 
pated vacancy, until his money is all spent, his 
credit gone, and at last very often obliged to return 
home no nearer the promised appointment than 
when he came to the city. 

Sorrow and suffering are not absent from the 
streets of the Capital, but they are presented in less 



STREE T SCENES. 5 3 

pitiable forms than in other cities. The streets are 
wide, and there are so many parks one is not brought 
in such close contact with the masses as in New 
York, Philadelphia, and other places : suffering and 
destitution viewed from a distance do not assume 
the same proportions as when crowded under our 
eyes. 






VIII. 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



'HP' HERE are quite a number of interesting pri- 
-^ vate residences located in various parts of the 
city, which may be termed historical houses ; and 
one need take only an occasional walk with some 
old resident to learn all about them. Some of them 
were erected about the same time the foundations of 
the Capitol were laid. Others were once the abode 
of distinguished individuals and influential families, 
and several the scene of violence and blood. Time 
has been very busy with many of them, and their 
former beauty and grandeur have departed forever. 
This is particularly true of the famous old Van Ness 
mansion, situated at the foot of Seventeenth Street, 
by the Potomac River. 

Daniel Burns was one of the original proprietors 
of the land now occupied by the city, and its impor- 
tance and growth brought him a fortune from the 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



55 



sale of building lots. John P. Van Ness, a member 
of Congress from New York, married his only 
daughter, Marcia, who at her father's death inherited 
the fortune. With this money Mr. Van Ness erected 
the mansion referred to, which was considered very 
grand and elegant at that time. 

It is a spacious square building, with fine veran- 
das across the front, and when new had many con- 
veniences and adornments, not found in other houses 
of the city. There were ample grounds around it, 
filled w^ith trees and shrubbery, beds of gay flowers 
and trailing vines. The garden in front was terraced 
down to the water's edge. Music, feasting, and 
dancing were a part of Southern hospitality in those 
days, and this roof had many merry parties gathered 
beneath it, where the young and old mingled in the 
giddy dance and enjoyed the hospitality of the 
courtly owner. 

But everything is very much changed now. The 
mansion is fast going to decay, the trees gnarled and 
unshapely, the shrubbery rank and overgrown in 
some places, and in others broken down entirely. 
The flowers and bordered walks are all gone, and 
the pretty terraced garden an unsightly wilderness, 
and rapidly becoming a swamp. Worse than the 



56 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ruin, though, staring one in the face, the fact that 
the premises are now used as an ice-cream saloon 
and summer-garden for negroes, and those of not 
the most reputable character either. Just think of 
it! the mansion so costly and once so famous, trans- 
formed into a summer-garden for negroes ! 

"■ Duddington," on Capitol Hill, is another very 
old mansion, and quite as aristocratic as the above. 
It is the old home of Daniel Carroll, a near relative 
of Charles Carroll of " Carrollton," The spacious 
hall, lofty pillars, and polished floors were modelled 
after the style of old English mansions, and the 
grounds were extensive and handsome. The master 
delighted in receiving and entertaining beneath his 
roof the first men of the nation, and was noted for 
the dignity and stateliness of his manners. The 
family are all gone now, and very little of the former 
glory of the place remaining. 

There are three bright, attractive houses opposite 
the east park of the Capitol and commanding a fine 
view of the grounds, which are at present the quiet 
homes of three prominent families. These houses 
have a look of such substantial comfort, one would 
never dream of there having been so many weary 
days and hopeless nights passed within them, nor of 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



57 



the tales of woe whispered to, and echoed back from, 
the sohd walls. The building — it was originally all 
in one — has a history, for it is no other than the 
"Old Capitol Prison;" which name, to many now 
living, is synonymous with suffering, darkness, and 
despair. During the war hundreds of prisoners were 
confined there, and an execution once took place in 
the yard. Congress held its sessions there before 
occupying the present Capitol, and the building was 
then made into two private residences, and kept as 
boarding-houses for a number of years. Many dis- 
tinguished men of both Houses of Congress made 
their home there during the sessions, and John C. 
Calhoun died there. 

At the corner of Lafayette Place and "H" Street 
stands a house around which are clustered historic 
memories; it is the old home of one who at one time 
was the nation's idol, and who breathed his last with- 
in its walls. I refer to Commodore Decatur. The 
house was built by him, and the most distinguished 
men of the nation were in the habit of visiting there. 

The whole history of the duel between Decatur 
and Barron, which resulted in his death, is very sad, 
and throws a dark cloud over the brilliant record of 
each. 

5 



c8 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

I presume every one is familiar with the story of 
the unfortunate affair of the English ship-of-war 
'' Leopard" and the American frigate ''Chesapeake," 
commanded by Commodore Barron, and how the 
latter was accused of neglect of duty in failing to 
have his guns in readiness to meet the enemy, and 
therefore obliged to surrender the "Chesapeake," 
firing one gun as she struck her colors. A court- 
martial for this affair followed, and he was suspended 
for five years. Great effort was made by some to 
have him reinstated ; others strongly opposed such 
action — among them Commodore Decatur. This 
greatly incensed Commodore Barron, and, after a 
sharp correspondence had passed between them, he 
sent Decatur a challenge, which was accepted ; and 
the duel fought near Bladensburg, March 22, 1820, 
resulted in the latter falling mortally wounded. 

He was carried home, where in a few hours he 
expired. His death cast a gloom over the whole 
city, and a "drawing-room" to be held that evening 
at the White House was postponed in consequence. 

The funeral was very imposing, and minute guns 
were fired from the Navy Yard while the procession 
was passing from the house to the place of inter- 
ment. 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



59 



The house — a very handsome one — was afterward 
occupied by various prominent -persons, among them 
Judah P. Benjamin, who furnished it in the most 
luxurious manner, and brought his young French 
wife there. Mr. Benjamin, as is well known, became 
the Secretary of State of the Southern Confederacy, 
and later, quite eminent as Queen's Councillor in 
England. 

General Beale is the present occupant, and enter- 
tains in the most lavish manner. General and Mrs. 
Grant usually stay with him during their brief visits 
to Washington. 

Another very interesting house on " H" Street is 
that known as the Freeman House. It is directly 
opposite Lafayette Square, and was the abode of 
Lord Ashburton during his important mission to 
America. All readers of history understand the im- 
portance of the "Ashburton Treaty," and how it 
settled forever certain differences between England 
and the United States by defining the boundary lines 
of Maine and Canada. 

The house was built, or rather commenced, by a 
gentleman who became financially embarrassed be- 
fore fully completed, and who was very glad to rent 
it to the distinguished foreigner for ;^I000 per 
annum. 



60 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

Lord Ashburton was a plain matter-of-fact sort of 
man, and one of his eccentricities was to carry an 
immense green silk umbrella, to protect him from 
the sun or the rain. There is a fine portrait of his 
lordship in the State Department. 

Not quite a square from the above-named man- 
sion and in full view of it is the Seward House, 
which has been made historical by two events. 
Secretary Seward was living there the night he re- 
ceived the wounds from a would-be assassin; when 
a pall, as it were, fell over the whole city, and men 
held their breath with fear, and neighbor dared not 
trust his neighbor ; and Philip Barton Key received 
his death wound from the hand of General Sickles 
while standing within a few feet of the front door. 
At the time this last" event occurred the house was 
used as a club-house, and Key was in the habit of 
spending much of his time there. 

Indeed, almost every house around Lafayette 
Square has some interesting story, or been the abode 
at one time of some distinguished personage. The 
old home of Charles Sumner faces the park, and the 
present residence of W. W. Corcoran also. The 
latter, quite an old house, was rented by Daniel 
Webster when Secretary of State. He was always 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 6 1 

very lavish in his expenditures, and gave many ele- 
gant dinners and other entertainments during his 
residence there. After Mr. Corcoran purchased it, 
and during the late war, it was occupied by M. Mon- 
tholon, the French Minister, who also entertained 
very handsomely. 

Mr. Corcoran has occupied the house a number of 
years, and many improvements have been added, so 
that it is now one of the finest in the city. There is 
a large garden in the rear filled with flowers and 
shrubbery and choice fruit trees. 

On Highland Place above Fourteenth Street 
stands quite an old house, built by Secretary Craw- 
ford. When completed, it was the finest and almost 
the only one in that immediate neighborhood — all 
beyond it was open country. But everything is very 
much changed. Beautiful mansions have sprung up 
all around and several squares beyond. Wealth and 
culture are visible upon all sides. The equestrian 
statue of General Thomas is within a few rods of it 
and the Louise Home almost directly opposite. 

Secretary Crawford was a somewhat remarkable 
character in his day. At one time he ran for the 
Presidency. In 1 807 he ran for Senator in Georgia 
and had an exciting canvass, managed to fight two 



62 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

duels during that time, killing his opponent in the 
first and being wounded himself in the second. 

He was Minister to France at one time, and a 
warm friend of Lafayette, who made him his agent 
for his American lands. He is said to have been of 
a social disposition, enjoyed having his friends visit 
him, and his house was known in the family as 
Liberty Hall. 

On Tenth Street, directly opposite the Medical 
Museum, is the house in which Abraham Lincoln 
breathed his last. It is a plain, unpretending man- 
sion, but made interesting by the sad scenes of that' 
event. 

The Octagon House, corner of New York Avenue 
and Eighteenth Street, is one of the most celebrated 
houses in Washington. It is of peculiar design, as 
the name indicates, and was originally very elegant 
and stylish. It w^as built about 1798 by Colonel John 
Tayloe, one of the rich men of the District, who en- 
tertained in princely style. 

After the burning of the White House, in 18 14, 
President and Mrs. Madison went there to live, and 
the New-Year's reception of 181 5 was held there. 
The Treaty of Ghent is said to have been signed in 
this house, and the President received and enter- 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 63 

tained many distinguished visitors from other coun- 
tries. It is now very much out of repair, and, 
moreover, said to be haunted, and rarely ever occu- 
pied. Whether the ghost is a Presidential one or 
only a "commoner," I have not learned. 

There seems to be a strange fatality about many 
fine residences of the city. Houses, once the homes 
of wealthy, prominent men, and the place where 
beauty and fashion were wont to mingle in social 
intercourse, are now closed or degenerated into that 
much-abused institution, " a Washington boarding 
house." And this has not been brought about, as 
frequently happens in other cities, by the death of 
the head of the family, the march of trade or de- 
mands of fashion pointing to more desirable locali- 
ties, for many are on quiet streets, and many in 
fashionable neighborhoods. It seems to be due 
rather to the changeable nature of the population. 
Every four years new men come to the front, and 
many launch out into an extravagant style of living; 
and if by chance they continue in public positions 
longer than the four years, begin to imagine their 
sojourn in Washington permanent, and rear for 
themselves fine mansions, gather luxuries and com- 
forts about them, and in a flash the political wheel 



64 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

makes a turn, leaving them without position and 
frequently without money. Then the home is broken 
up, the household lares and penates become scat- 
tered ; the house passes into the hands of strangers, 
and in time the ubiquitous white card hangs by the 
door. 

" Kalorama," located on the hills near Rock 
Creek, outside of the city limits, may also be called 
one of the historical houses of Washington. It was 
built in 1805 by Joel Barlow, a poet and politician, 
and, moreover, a shrewd business man. Having 
amassed a fortune in France by successful specula- 
tions, he returned to America to enjoy it. Wash- 
ington was chosen as the place for his future home, 
and he erected this elegant mansion, laid out the 
grounds in fine style, filled them with fountains and 
statuary, and opened his door to his friends. It 
seems he did not enjoy his handsome residence very 
long, for in 181 1 he accepted the position of Minister 
to France, and, while abroad, when travelling in Po- 
land, contracted a heavy cold and died in a cottage 
near Cracow. 

The mansion has had many different occupants 
since then, and, like many other old residences 
around the city, could tell strange tales of joy, sor- 



HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



6s 



row, and ambition, if endowed with the power of 
speech. 

There is an old vault on the place in which the 
remains of Decatur were placed at the time of his 
death, and where they remained until the year 1846, 
when they were removed to Philadelphia. 



Near Bladensburg is another fine did mansion, 
known as " Riversdale." Very many persons sup- 
pose this to be the old family residence of the Lords 
Baltimore, as it was the home of a Calvert; this, 
however, is not the case. Their seat was at Mount 
I Airy, Md., and the title became extinct with Frede- 
rick, the sixth Lord Baltimore. Having the misfor- 
tune to lose his wife shortly after marriage, he be- 
came very profligate, went abroad, and died when 
quite a young man. The Calverts of Riversdale 
must have descended from another branch of the 
family. The mansion was built, or rather com- 
menced, by a wealthy gentleman* from Belgium. 
He had a very pretty daughter, and Mr. Calvert 
being caught in the toils of Cupid, succeeded in 
winning her hand. After they were married he 
completed the house and resided there with his wife. 



(i^ NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

The mansion is about a hundred years old and after 
the style of an Italian villa. The rooms are large 
and the ceilings very high. The grounds were for- 
merly very handsome and well stocked with deer ; 
and all the surroundings in accord with the generous 
style of living of the owner. Many distinguished 
men from Washington were in the habit of visiting 
there during the lifetime of the late Charles Calvert, 
Esq., and Henry Clay wrote the Missouri Compro- 
mise bill under this roof. 



IX. 



CORCORAN ART GALLERY. 



T^HILADELPHIA was fortunate in having a 
-^ Girard, and Baltimore a Peabody, to remember 
them in the distribution of a fortune. Washington 
has been quite as fortunate in having a Corcoran. 
The latter has preferred to bestow his gifts during 
his lifetime, so that he has double pleasure thereby ; 
pleasure in giving away large sums of money, and 
pleasure in seeing the good results flowing there- 
from and in knowing it has been properly applied 
to the purpose intended. 

The city is indebted to him for the beautiful build- 
ing at the corner of Seventeenth Street and Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue known as the Corcoran Art Gallery; 
which was deeded to the Trustees May lo, 1869, 
"for the encouragement of Painting, Sculpture, and 
the Fine Arts," with the condition that "it should 
be open" to visitors without charge two days in the 



6S NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

week, and on other days at moderate and reasonable 
charges," the latter to be applied to the current ex- 
penses of preserving and keeping in order the build- 
ing and its contents. 

The building is of brick in the Renaissance style, 
with brown-stone facings and ornaments. It fronts 
on Pennsylvania Avenue io6 feet, and runs back on 
Seventeenth Street 125 feet. 

The front is of imposing style, divided by pilas- 
ters, having capitals of the Columbian style repre- 
senting Indian corn, into recesses, four stone niches 
for statues, with trophies and wreaths of foliage 
finely carved, the monogram of the founder, and the 
inscription "■ Dedicated to Art." 

The niches intended for the reception of statues 
have been nearly all filled. Those across the front 
containing respectively Phidias, Raphael, Michael 
Angelo, and Albert Durer, representing the sister 
arts of Sculpture, Painting, Engraving, and Archi- 
tecture. They are seven feet high and are carved 
from fine Carrara marble. The niches on the side 
contain statues of Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt,- and 
Da Vinci. 

The building is two stories in height. The first 



CORCORAN ART GALLERY. 



69 



floor is devoted to sculpture, bronzes, and ceramics. 
The second floor contains the Picture galleries. 

The main Picture Gallery is ninety-five feet long 
by forty-four feet wide, and lighted from the roof. 
The walls are of a maroon tint, and the ceilings 
frescoed and gilded. The cost of the building and 
ground was ;^2 50,000. Mr. Corcoran placed his pri- 
vate collection of pictures and statuary in it, valued 
at ^100,000 more. There is an endowment fund of 
;^900,ooo, yielding an annual income of $60,000. 

Ascending the broad stairway leading to the Pic- 
ture galleries, the first picture to meet the eye is a 
very fine portrait of the donor of this treasure- 
house — W. W. Corcoran, Esq It was painted some 
years ago by Charles L. Elliott, who died a year or 
two after completing it. It is considered an excel- 
lent likeness. There are a few notable pictures in 
the gallery by celebrated artists, and some very 
good ones by artists not so well known. The por- 
traits are particularly interesting. 

Church's Niagara occupies a conspicuous place, 
and is to me the gem of the collection. To look 
upon this picture when the sun is shining brightly 
over head, is the next best thing to standing beside 
the mighty cataract. The mist is there, the beauti- 



70 NOTES ON WASHINGTON . 

ful rainbow, the vast volume of vivid green water, 
the boihng and rushing rapids, the distant trees in 
their autumn foHage — everything but the strange, 
solemn roar — what a great pity the artist could not 
transfer that also to his canvas ! I have heard 
;^ 1 2,000 was the price paid for it, and I am sure the 
sum is moderate, considering the pleasure that 
twelve thousand people have had in looking at it, 
many of whom will never have an opportunity of 
beholding the reality. 

Another beautiful picture is " Charlotte Corday ia 
Prison." It was painted by Muller, an eminent 
French artist, and came directly from his hand to 
the gallery. The pale, sad face looking through the 
prison bars is strangely fascinating. It has been 
extensively copied, as is well known, and photo- 
graphs of it are sold by hundreds. 

The French picture, *' Le Regiment qui Passe," 
by Detaille, representing a regiment of soldiers pass- 
ing through the streets of Paris on a wet, sno\vy 
day, is very fine. 

"Mount Corcoran," by Bierstadt, is also good. 
" Edict of William the Testy," by Boughton, is an 
interesting picture. It was painted expressly for 
this gallery, and the artist received a handsome com- 



CORCORAN AR T CALLER \. yi 

pensation. Another very beautiful and curious pic- 
ture is the " Procession of the Sacred Bull Apis- 
Osiris," by Bridgman. 

The side galleries leading from the main hall to 
the Octagon Room contain a number of portraits, 
principally of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents. 

In the centre of the Octagon Room, which has 
been lined with maroon cashmere, is Powers's Greek 
Slave, beautiful enough in itself to need no framing 
of color and light, but still more beautiful in contrast 
with the dark, rich color around it. A few choice 
busts have been honored with a place in the same 
room. 

The Hall of Sculpture contains a few pieces of 
marble, but the principal part of the collection con- 
sists of plaster casts of celebrated statues, at present 
in the Vatican, Louvre, British Museum, and the 
Museums of Florence and Naples. Of course, hke 
the originals, many of them are in a mutilated con- 
dition, and as the gallery is visited daily by many 
persons who never heard of Venus, Apollo, Iris, and 
other mythological personages, there is often much 
wonderment expressed at their condition. A rural 
visitor one day, unable to restrain her surprise, was 



72 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

overheard to say, " I do wonder how all them things 
got broke!" 

The collection of bronzes and ceramics, although 
not large, is valuable and beautiful. A number of 
choice articles were added at the close of the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition ; Mr. Corcoran purchased them 
for this purpose. 

A large Japanese bowl three feet in diameter, dec- 
orated with serpents and dragons, which attracted 
much attention in the Main Building at Philadelphia, 
is now in the gallery. Also two vases and a square 
table in Cloisonne, three hundred years old ; and a 
bronze Japanese Yoshitaure vase. 

There are three very fine " Arita" porcelain Japan- 
ese vases made expressly for the Centennial Exhi- 
bition and of unusual size and finish. 

The electrotype reproductions of the " Hildesheim 
Treasures" are ver}^ interesting; also those of other 
articles at present in the British Museum. 



X. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



March 4, 1881. 

'' I "^HE inauguration of President Garfield at the 
^ Capitol this morning was a very different 
affair from the inauguration of his predecessor four 
years ago. 

A slight fall of snow yesterday somewhat marred 
the preparations for the day, but did not seriously 
interfere with them, for the sun came out warm and 
bright at an early hour, and by the time the last 
division of troops taking part in the pageant had 
passed in review the streets were perfectly dry. 

The arrangements for handling and marching such 
a large body of men were excellent, and everything 
moved on as easily and quietly as any one could 
wish for. 

The scene upon Pennsylvania Avenue, as the 
President and President-elect passed down on their 
way to the Capitol, has never before been equalled 
6 



74 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON 



in Washington. A triumphal arch had been erected 
between the Treasury Building and the building 
opposite, and tastefully* decorated with flags and 
streamers and the coat-of-arms of the various States. 
The Treasury, from pavement to roof, was a mass of 
evergreens, flags, and streamers. Every public build- 
ing along the route was decorated in a similar man- 
ner, and the owners of private residences seemed to 
vie with each other as to which should belong the 
honor of having the most elaborate adornment. 

The passage down was a perfect ovation from be- 
ginning to end ; a sea of heads surged upon the side- 
walk and filled all the windows and roofs of the 
houses along the route. 

An equally enthusiastic audience met the distin- 
guished party at the Capitol, and the scenes there 
were both interesting and impressive. 

The short time spent in returning from the Capitol 
to the White House I think must have been the 
proudest moments in Mr. Garfield's life. He is the 
lawfully inaugurated President of the great American 
people, has reached the highest position possible for 
man to reach in this country, and the plaudits and 
greetings which burst from ten thousand throats 
seemed to indicate entire satisfaction in the result. 



/ 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 75 

At the Treasury Department, as the open carriage 
with its four prancing gray horses turned to enter 
the south gate leading to the Executive Mansion, the 
enthusiasm was so great that Mr. Garfield felt obliged 
to acknowledge it, and standing erect in the car- 
riage, uncovered his head, and bowed repeatedly in 
response to the hearty greeting. He would have 
been more than mortal not to have felt a thrill of 
triumph at that moment. 

July 4, 1 88 1. 

What a remarkable country this is, and how rap- 
idly events follow each other, keeping one in a per- 
petual state of excitement! A dark cloud has settled 
over this fair city, and indeed may be said to extend 
over the whole land. Yesterday the city was radiant 
with inaugural festivities ; to-day all is dark, gloomy, 
uncertain ! The President has been stricken down 
by the hand of an assassin, and no one can foretell 
the result. 

I stood, on Saturday morning last, on the same 
spot where I was standing the 4th day of March, as 
the newly made President rose in his carriage, bowed 
to the cheering multitude, and was whirled in through 
the south gate* leading to the Executive Mansion, 



76 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

but oh ! what a contrast ! There were no hoHday 
decorations ; no gay banners and streamers floating 
out in the morning breeze ; no strains of martial 
music fining the air ; no cheering multitude, and no 
handsome barouche drawn by four prancing gray 
steeds. Instead of these, I saw an ambulance turn 
in the gate; before it three mounted policemen, and 
as many more in the rear. A carriage slowly fol- 
lowed, and a crowd of ragged, curious negroes came 
close behind. The latter were shut out at the gate, 
and the mournful procession moved slowly to the 
door, where an anxious group awaited its arrival. 
The wounded man raised his hand when he saw his 
friends, but could not speak. 

This is usually a day of great rejoicing here, but 
no one has any heart for gayety ; even the boys who 
look forward to the day with so much pleasure have 
abstained from their accustomed amusements. 

I stopped for a few moments at the White House 
gate, about sunset, to learn the latest tidings from 
the sick chamber. Groups were standing all along 
the square waiting for the same purpose. High and 
low were there, and each seemed equally interested. 
The grounds look strangely picturesque with the 
white tents of the soldiers scattered, over them, and 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



77 



an armed sentinel pacing to and fro before each 
gate. The sufferings of the distinguished patient 
have touched a chord in every breast, and the sym- 
pathy apparently perfectly sincere. 

September. 

If the contrast between the journey of the Presi- 
dent on March 4th and July 2d was very great, I 
think the early morning ride of yesterday greater 
still. Lifted from his couch by tender and loving 
hands, laid upon a mattress in an express wagon, 
and driven slowly down the avenue, in the dull morn- 
ing light of the hour between daybreak and sun- 
rise ; no one visible upon the streets except a 
laborer here and there hastening to his distant place 
of daily toil, or a marketman starting out upon his 
daily round ; the patient slowly, slowly dying, and 
longing, longing for a sight of the sea. Could any- 
thing be more touching or more sad ? The Presi- 
dent has longed so much to go to the sea-shore that 
his physicians decided to gratify him, and the prepa- 
rations for the journey were begun some days ago. 
It is astonishing what deep interest has been taken 
in these preparations by all classes. 

In order to avoid driving over rough cobble-stones 



78 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



to the car, the railroad company kindly ordered a 
branch track laid up to the very edge of the con- 
crete pavement on Pennsylvania Avenue, so that the 
sick man could be lifted directly from the wagon, 
which carried him on a mattress to the station, into 
the car. After the preparations were completed the 
spot was visited by hundreds of men, women, and 
children, eager to inspect them and look into the 
car in which the distinguished sufferer was to ride. 
The journey was successfully made, and the news 
to-day encourages the hope that he may yet recover. 

September 23. - 

Pennsylvania Avenue is clothed to-day in the ha- 
biliments of mourning. With muffled drums, mea- 
sured steps, and bowed heads, the people have paid 
the last sad honors to James A. Garfield. 



February I, 1882. 

This is the beginning of the fourth month of the 
trial of the assassin Guiteau, and it is so intermi- 
nable that one feels like flying away from the city to 
some obscure corner, where it would be impossible 
to hear or read anything more about it. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 79 

Strange to say, refined, cultivated ladies have been 
visiting the court-room day after day, and have 
seemed to really enjoy the remarkable proceedings. 
This is one of the peculiar phases of Washington 
life. It would not be possible to induce these same 
ladies to attend the trial of a common murderer in 
New York or Boston, and yet they are willing to 
crowd into this court-room, suffer all sorts of dis- 
comforts, and listen to many things they ought not 
to hear — and for what? It is not any interest in the 
prisoner, nor sympathy for his relatives, nor the pro- 
found learning and wonderful eloquence of his coun- 
sel that attract them. I think one word will explain 
all, viz : Notoriety. 

July 2. 

Charles J. Guiteau, the wretched man, who by his 
dastardly act one year ago caused the death of a 
fellow man, and plunged the nation in a deep wave 
of sorrow, on Friday last paid the penalty of his 
crime, and another dark chapter in the history of 
the country has been closed. 



XI. 



SOCIETY. 



T T seems as though the Capitol should be the 
-■- grand centre of national refinement, literature, 
and science, and that intelligent cultivated people 
should there find the society most congenial to 
them. This, however, is not the case. True, much 
culture may be found, also refinement and learning, 
and among the residents there are any number of 
distinguished authors and scientists; but the literary 
feature is not as conspicuous as in some other cities 
I could name, and is in constant danger of being 
overshadowed altogether by the glitter and show 
attending position and wealth. 

Society, as at present existing in Washington, is 
very peculiarly made up, and at its best very hollow 
and unsatisfactory. 

During the ** season," which begins about the first 
of December and continues until the beginning of 



SOCIETY. 8 1 

Lent, there is one round of gayety. Receptions, 
balls, and other entertainments follow each other in 
rapid succession — frequently several occurring of an 
evening ; and the guests flit from one house to an- 
other, spending an hour or more at each. 

At these receptions Fashion reigns supreme, and 
the jewels and toilets of the ladies are costly and 
elegant. 

The wives of prominent officials, including Cabi- 
net officers, Judges of the Supreme Court, Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, and Senators and 
Members, have certain hours one day each week, 
during the season, for receiving their friends. But 
the receptions are not confined to friends, for their 
houses are, in a certain sense, open to the public, and 
any one of presentable appearance can walk in and 
pay his or her " respects," introducing himself if 
necessary, partake of a cup of coffee or chocolate, 
and enjoy a chat with the hostess if so inclined. 

There is often a great crowd and the hostess is 
usually assisted by several lady friends, to whom you 
are introduced in succession. If your name happens 
to be an uncommon one, or very long, by the time 
you reach the last lady in the line, it becomes so 
much distorted you would not recognize it yourself, 



82 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

and of course it is impossible for strangers to ; con- 
sequently, if you meet these same ladies again, more 
than likely they will not remember your face and do 
not know your correct name, therefore you have to 
be introduced a second and sometimes a third time. 

These receptions in course of time become a great 
bore to the ladies receiving, and they are generally 
very glad when the season is over. 

Society is very much broken up into " sets" or 
"cliques." The individuals making up the one set 
affiliate with those composing the others, but the 
distinctive set still remains. For example, there is 
the army and navy set, which prides itself upon its 
exclusiveness, and rather inclines to the opinion that 
it represents the aristocracy of the country. There 
is also the official and congressional set, conspicuous 
only during a session of Congress. Then, again, 
there is a literary set, made up of authors, newspaper 
correspondents, and book-worms generally. Then, 
too, there is a musical set, composed of musical so- 
cieties, professors of music, and amateurs of every 
degree of proficiency. 

The custom of keeping " open house" one day 
each week, by the families of officials, gives many 
persons a chance of "getting into society," who 



SOCIETY. 



83 



could not if they were obliged to depend upon an 
invitation. During the winter time Washington is 
filled with a floating population of strangers, many 
of whom are adventurers and persons of no stand- 
ing and frequently of no reputation in their former 
homes ; many do not possess a dollar in the world, 
except what they pick up from day to day by their 
wits. Their stock in trade, if females, consists very 
often of nothing more than one or two attractive 
costumes, a fair face, and a great deal of assurance. 
They live, or rather lodge, in cheap lodging-houses, 
and depend upon the reception or afternoon " tea" 
to furnish them at least one good meal each day, the 
others they very often do without. They cultivate 
the acquaintance of Members and Senators, and 
sometimes, under favorable circumstances, entertain 
them at supper or whist, and in return ask politi- 
cal favors in the most unblushing manner. This 
class find Washington a most delightful place for a 
winter's sojourn, and if the veil could be lifted which 
obscures the true character of many of those crowd- 
ing the parlors of officials upon reception days, I am 
very sure this description would apply to them. 

The female lobbyist is nothing new in Washing- 
ton; she was prominent half a century ago, and she 



84 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

plies her trade quite as diligently to-day as she did 
then. I clipped the following advertisement recently 
from a morning journal, which I think proves this 
assertion : — 

PERSONAL.— A LADY WHO HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL 
I in a quiet way of obtaining claims through congressional influ- 
ence, will take charge of a good claim where the parties will pay a 
retainer. Address, in confidence, " Sub Rosa," etc. 

It is always more pleasant to dwell upon the fair 
and beautiful side of life, than upon the dark and 
unattractive ; but I find it impossible for one to live 
many years in Washington without discovering a 
dark side ; and that many things are tolerated in so- 
ciety which would be more in keeping with the state 
of morals existing in the French capital under the 
old regime, than what one has a right to look for in 
the enlightened, purified society of republican Ame- 
rica. These evils may really not be any greater 
than in other cities of the country, but Washington 
labors under the disadvantage of being more public. 
Everybody is so well known, and such publicity 
given to private affairs, that that which in other 
places is a mere ripple, confined to a narrow circle, 
becomes in Washington a well developed breaker. 

Vaulting ambition, frivolity, and reckless extrava- 
gance are some of the minor evils ; there are others 



SOCIETY. 3^ 

of a more serious character. Intemperance prevails 
to an alarming extent, and, unfortunately, is not con- 
fined to the male sex. 

Intrigue seems to flourish under the shadow of 
the dome, and social circles are constantly being 
startled by a tale of scandal. Some are uncharitable 
enough to say that this is owing to the presence of 
so many foreigners in the city ; that they bring the 
peculiar notions of other lands regarding woman 
with them, and do not have the proper respect for 
the sex that Americans have. This may be true to 
a certain extent, but, alas ! the foreign element forms 
a very small proportion of the so-called social circle, 
and therefore cannot be responsible for so much 
wrongdoing. They are more indifferent to public 
opinion than the Americans, and therefore more 
open in their transgressions. It has not been many 
years since one of them created a sensation in the 
city by reason of a piece of deception practised 
upon the unsuspecting, which caused considerable 
gossip at the time. The gentleman, an attache of a 
foreign legation — secretary or something of the kind 
— was accompanied to this country by a dark-haired, 
dark-eyed lady, who was very beautiful and charm- 
ing. She was not introduced into society, nor, in- 



86 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

deed, ever seen in the city; but there were hints 
constantly being dropped about a pretty Httle cot- 
tage in the suburbs where, amidst cHmbing roses 
and sweet-scented honeysuckle, the fair lady awaited 
the daily visits of the gallant secretary. 

After a time the secretary was recalled to his own 
country and the affair was almost forgotten in Wash- 
ington. In the course of time he again appeared in 
the Capital, this time as the accredited Minister of a 
powerful government, and was accompanied by his 
wife, a- beautiful lady with dark sparkling eyes and a 
wealth of wonderful blonde hair. She dressed with 
exquisite taste, entertained charmingly, and was con- 
sidered quite an acquisition to society. The current 
of life flowed on smoothly and pleasantly with the 
pair, and no one supposed the lady had ev^er before 
been in America. At a dinner party one day, a 
gentleman who had seen the beauty of the vine-clad 
cottage, made the startling discovery that Madame 
and the dark-eyed lady were one and the same 
person ! 

There are many worshippers of Mammon to be 
found in Washington, and the deference paid to pos- 
sessors of wealth is truly lamentable. Some persons 
are living there now who, from their loose observ- 



SOCIETY. 87 

ance of the proprieties of life, have been disbarred 
from good society elsewhere, yet owing to their 
ability to make a stylish appearance and entertain 
handsomely, are recognized, and their shortcomings 
to a great extent overlooked. 

The deference paid to gold is bad enough, but I 
think the toadyism existing much worse. It has no 
equal elsewhere, at least not in this country. It runs 
through every grade of society, and the obsequious 
court paid to influence and position is carried to such 
an extent it becomes an annoyance and an absurdity. 
This is particularly noticeable in the stores and other 
places of business. In Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
other cities, one customer is waited upon with as 
much . alacrity and politeness as another ; but in 
Washington, if Mrs. Secretary Smith or Mrs, Chief 
Justice Jones drives up in her carriage, the ordinary 
customer must step aside and wait until they are 
served ; or, if she insists upon being attended to 
first, it is done in such an ungracious manner, she is 
glad to escape from the place rather than suffer fur- 
ther humiliation. 

Living in hotels and boarding-houses the whole 
or greater part of the year, as many families do, is 
to be deplored. It has a tendency to produce false 



88 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ideas of life, and the effect must sooner or later be 
perceptible in the tone of society. 

There is a spirit of emulation excited among the 
young people particularly, and the constant inter- 
course and intimate association with others of larger 
means induces extravagance and love of ease in those 
who cannot well afford it. Hotel life is an indolent 
one, to say the least, and a very unwholesome atmo- 
sphere in which to rear a family, as it does away 
with the innocent pleasures and restraints of the 
home circle, and opens the way for forming acquaint- 
ances who are often very undesirable. Girls become 
so accustomed, almost from infancy, to meeting 
strangers, they lose all shyness and reserve of man- 
ner, and long before they are grown have all the 
ease, repartee, and dissimulation of a fashionable 
woman. 

And then, too, life in a hotel or boarding-house is 
so terribly unsatisfactory, it rather forces many into 
the whirlpool of dissipation who would not otherwise 
be drawn in. There are no home duties to be per- 
formed, no parlors to dust, no treasured china and 
silver to be washed after a cosey breakfast, no dainty 
cake or dessert to be prepared, no room to be made 
ready for the coming guest, and for whom the house 



SOCIETY. 



89 



is to be "swept and garnished;" how are people to kill 
the time of which they have such an abundant sup- 
ply ? The answer is to be found in the every-day 
life of nine-tenths of the guests of every boarding- 
house in the city. 

After a late breakfast, they idle away an hour or 
so in the public parlor, talk over the opera or ball, or 
the last new dress ; then an hour must be spent in 
preparing for the promenade or morning call ; after 
that comes lunch, and again the toilet must be ad- 
justed for the reception or afternoon '' tea ;" dinner 
then occupies the time for another hour, and after 
dinner the evening may be devoted to the theatre, 
the German, the ball, or spent in the parlor in frivo- 
lous conversation. Is it not easy to see what effect 
such a life must have upon those whose characters 
are being formed ? 

It is hardly fair, though, to dwell so long upon the 
shadow of the picture without calling attention to 
the bright side, and I am happy to say there is a 
bright side, pencilled in such vivid tints that the 
whole is illumined. 

There are very many charming homes where faith- 
ful husbands and loving wives are conscientiously and 
religiously performing the duties of life and training 

7 



90 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



their little ones in the way they should go. There is 
a noble spirit of philanthropy abroad and no suffering 
cause ever appeals in vain for help. 

In times of public calamity, such as famine, flood, 
or pestilence, the people are lavish in their contribu- 
tions and thoroughly unselfish in their warm-hearted 
sympathy. 

Struggling artists and authors find a hand ever 
ready to help them, and in no other place is there 
such a readiness to recognize talent of any kind. 
Even in the most fashionable houses and in the midst 
of a winter's round of gayety, some time is spared 
for " sweet charity." The Children's Hospital is a 
notable example of this. Beginning in a small room, 
rented for the purpose, it has grown to splendid 
proportions; and now relieves the sufferings and 
administers to the comforts of hundreds of children, 
in a large well-appointed building reared by the 
generosity of kind-hearted ladies and gentlemen. 

Congress makes a small appropriation annually, 
but the greater part of the expense is borne by these 
persons. The Charity Ball, given each winter for 
the benefit of the hospital, is usually the most bril- 
liant affair of the fashionable season. 

The people are also remarkably hospitable, and it 



SOCIETY. 



91 



must be acknowledged in very many things no other 
city is half so charming. 

One very pleasing feature of the social life is the 
opportunity afforded for unexpected and pleasant 
meetings between acquaintances and friends. 

So many persons drift to the Capital in pursuit of 
business or pleasure, that it has become a common 
saying, that " everybody turns up in Washington 
once in four years;" and in no other city could these 
romantic and remarkable meetings occur. 

Young men have been known to leave homes in 
the East, to seek home and fortune in the far West, 
and after the lapse of many years found their way to 
the Capital as an honored representative of their 
adopted State, and surprised and pleased to find 
patrons and companions of their boyhood serving in 
Congress with them. 

The experiences of the late war drew many per- 
sons together at times under peculiar circumstances, 
and the scenes and incidents attending them were 
often of such a character as to be almost impossible 
to forget them. To be brought face to face again 
after the lapse of many years is sometimes very pleas- 
ant and interesting. 

A remarkable meeting of this kind occurred at 



92 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



the White House a short time after the inauguration 
of President Garfield. A number of friends were 
spending the evening socially with Mrs. Garfield, 

and among them Miss R , a lady well known in 

Washington. During the war she was very much 
interested in the sick and wounded soldiers gathered 
in hospitals in various parts of the city, and in the 
habit of devoting two hours each day to them, allow- 
ing nothing to interfere with her visits. In a hospital 
on '• I" Street, one morning, she found a young man 
whose leg had just been amputated. The operation 
had been a severe one and the bleeding very profuse. 
Too weak to bear the taking up of the artery, the 
only hope for his life was in having some one re- 
main beside him with the finger pressed upon the 
open artery. The father of the young man was 
equal to the task, and by his devotion saved the life 

of his son. Miss R paused at his bedside, spoke 

cheering words, and finding she could not help him 
passed on, thinking "the case a hopeless one, and 
that in a few hours more another name would be 
added to the " roll of honor." She was called away 
from the city the next morning, and lost sight of the 
sufferers for a time, and, in the confusion and ex- 



SOCIETY. 93 

citement of the times never learned anything more 
about the case. 

Several times during the course of the evening re- 
ferred to at the White House, she observed a tall, 
handsome gentleman looking at her very intently, 
but, as she did not remember ever having seen him 
before, paid little attention to him. 

As she was about to go to the cloak-room for her 
wraps, later in the evening, he approached her and 

asked, "Is this Miss R ?" She smilingly replied 

it was, "But I do not recognize you." He then 
asked her if she remembered Douglas Hospital, and 
her visit to the young man who was supposed to be 
dying under the circumstances above described. 
" Yes," she remembered. "Well, I was the patient," 
he said, "and I have never forgotten your kindness 
and the encouragement you gave me that day, and 
when I saw your face to-night, I felt that I must 

speak to you." Miss R was very much touched 

by being so pleasantly remembered, and after some 
conversation learned the gentleman was ex- Governor 
Connor of Maine. 

Another very interesting meeting of the same 
nature, was that of Speaker Kiefer and the wife of 
Rev. F. D. Power, Chaplain of the House. When the 



94 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

Speaker first met the lady in Washington, he was 
strongly impressed with the idea that he had met 
her elsewhere, but could not recollect where. She 
observed his puzzled air whenever they happened to 
be thrown together, but did not offer to relieve his 
embarrassment. 

Finally, one day, he said to her, " Your face is so 
familiar, surely I have met you before this winter." 
She then asked him if he remembered the time he 
was severely wounded in Virginia and carried to the 
house of a gentleman near by for treatment, and of 
the little girl, his daughter, coming in every day to 
read to him while he remained there as an invalid. 

" Yes," certainly he remembered. "And are you 
the little girl of that time?" he asked. 

She informed him she w^as, and the Speaker was 
quite delighted to have an opportunity to thank her 
for her kindness, and let her know how much it had 
been appreciated. 



XII. 



CHURCHES. 



'' I ^HE religious belief of the incoming President is 
^ always a subject of great interest to the con- 
gregations of the different churches of Washington, 
particularly to those of limited means and numbers ; 
for the church to which the President belongs, or is 
in the habit of attending, is sure to be well filled 
while he remains in office, and consequently much 
curiosity is manifested upon the part of the several 
denominations until the matter is settled. 

It is very pleasant to have empty pews occupied 
every Sabbath morning and evening by the hun- 
dreds of well-to-do people flocking in, also to have 
an empty treasury replenished by their liberal dona- 
tions. The new-comers do not often permanently 
unite with the church, nor can they always be de- 
pended upon to assist in its various works of benev- 
olence ; and the motive prompting many to come is 



96 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

either curiosity or a vulgar desire to be associated 
in the same congregation with the President, still 
they lend their presence, are quiet and decorous in 
taking part in the service, and very liberal in their 
contributions, therefore are gladly welcomed. 

It was the prospect of increased prosperity which 
so much delighted the members of the Christian 
Church in Washington when Mr. Garfield's election 
was assured. They were sure of his presence with 
them, for during the time he had served in Congress 
he held a pew in the little frame building on Ver- 
mont Avenue, and was rarely absent from his seat 
on Sabbath mornings. 

They knew the tiny building would soon be en- 
tirely too small to serve their purpose, as it was im- 
possible to seat more than four hundred persons, 
and they immediately laid their plans to erect a 
better and a more commodious house of worship. 
Agents were sent out through the country to solicit 
funds, and many large contributions were received 
from persons in the city, and they bravely went to 
work to secure a proper lot for the structure. 

As is well known, the sad death of the President 
was a great blow to their hopes and plans, but to 
their credit it must be said, that although cast down, 



CHURCHES. 07 

they did not despair, but persevered in their purpose, 
and have now a handsome building on the site of the 
old one, which, when completed, will be quite an 
ornament to the city. 

It was to the former little frame structure that 
Guiteau repaired one Sunday morning and watched 
the President through a window as he sat in his 
pew, and planned how he could send a bullet into 
his brain without injuring those seated near him. 

Very many of the churches of the city have an 
interesting history, and the ups and downs, hopes 
and trials through which they have passed have 
been almost as momentous and varied as those 
attending the life of some individuals. 

Upon some the weight of years is heavily resting, 
and the scars and lines upon their walls are visible 
signs of their long battle with Time and the ele- 
ments. Others have thrown off the old form, re- 
newed their youth, and have sprung up again in new 
forms of beauty. During the late war some formed 
a shelter for wounded and dying men, and the sacred 
walls which had resounded only with songs of praise 
and the words of the blessed gospel proclaiming 
" on earth peace, good-will toward men ;" echoed 



98 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

back the wails of the suffering and groans of the 
dying. 

Trinity Episcopal Church, at the corner of Third 
and '' C" streets, was one of those taken for a hospital, 
and for ten months an armed sentinel paced back 
and forth before the door. A floor was laid upon 
supports just over the tops of the pews, and one 
hundred and fifty cots placed in it, all very soon oc- 
cupied. On the 4th of July, 1862, fifty wounded 
men were brought in in the course of the day. 
Members of the congregation aided in administering 
to their wants, and the ladies were in the habit of 
spending much time there. 

The church on *'C" Street was not the original 
church of the parish, organized about the year 1826. 
The first meetings were held in the Circuit Court 
Room of the City Hall, and a house of worship was 
erected in 1829 on Fifth Street, between ^'D" and 
" E" streets. The building is still standing, and known 
at present as the Columbia Law Building. Reverend 
Henry Johns was the first rector, on a salary of $6^0 
per annum — rather a small salary compared with 
that now paid some pastors of city churches. The 
present church was erected in 1851, and the location 
on Third Street selected, on account of being in the 



CHURCHES. 



99 



very heart of the wealthiest and most fashionable 
part of the city. The march of improvement has 
been so rapid that Trinity is now left very far " down 
town." Many prominent families of the city have 
been connected with this church, and Francis Scott 
Key, at the time of his death, was one of its most 
useful and active vestrymen. 

Epiphany Episcopal Church, Fourth Presbyterian, 
and the Thirteenth Street Baptist Church were also 
used as hospitals. 

The First Presbyterian is one of the venerable 
churches of the city. It was founded in 1 809, and 
its first celebration of the Lord's Supper observed 
in the room of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. The first edifice was erected at the foot 
of Capitol Hill in 181 2. In 1827 a new house 
was erected on Four-and-a-Half Street Northwest. 
This was soon found to be too small to accommo- 
date the growing congregation, and in 1 860 the pre- 
sent structure was erected. General Jackson was in 
the habit of attending service there while President. 
Mrs. Polk was a member of this church, and Presi- 
dent and Mrs. Pierce were regular attendants. Pres- 
ident Buchanan also attended there. 

President Lincoln was a Presbyterian, and held a 



lOO NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

pew in New York Avenue Church, of which, at that 
time, Dr. Gurley was pastor. 

Christ Church, near the Navy Yard, is the oldest 
church in the city, but, Hke everything else Ameri- 
can, has been subjected to the paint-brush, trowel, 
and chisel, so that all marks of age have been re- 
moved. The parish was organized in 1794, and the 
first church, a frame building, erected on New Jersey 
Avenue. In 1807 the present building on *' G" 
Street Southeast was erected, and at that time was 
quite out in the country, and the congregation 
walked or rode over the commons to reach it. Mr. 
Madison was in the habit of attending service there. 

The cemetery known as the Congressional Ceme- 
tery was originally the burying -ground of Christ 
Church. According to the original rules made on 
April 4, 1807, "no person of color," nor any one 
'* known to deny a belief in the Christian religion," 
was allowed to be buried within the inclosure. 
There were one hundred burial sites set apart for 
Congressional use at first, and afterwards increased 
to three hundred. It is recorded in the church 
books, in 18 17, that Commodore Tingey waited on 
President Monroe, and informed him he had been di- 
rected by the vestry to hand him a resolution passed 



CHURCHES. 



lOI 



by them, appropriating pew No. i in Christ Church 
for the use of himself and family. The President 
accepted the offer. 

The Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, 
so well known during President Grant's administra- 
tion, is one of the largest and handsomest in the 
city. It is located at the corner of Four-and-a-Half 
and "C" streets, which was an unfortunate selection, 
as the ground is very low there, and the church set 
down in a hollow, as it were. It is of brown-stone, 
and finished with a graceful spire, the whole costing 
near ;^ 2 2 5,000. 

The foundation was laid before the late war, but 
the church was not built for several years afterward. 
It was dedicated in 1 869, and Dr. Newman became 
the pastor. He was Chaplain of the Senate about 
that time, and very soon gained a national reputa- 
tion. Indeed, the church was in one sense a na- 
tional church, for it was not erected to fill any special 
want in any particular circuit, and the committee 
solicited contributions from every part of the coun- 
try. Several States and cities contributed liberally, 
and reserved one or more pews, to be designated by 
the name of that State or city. Thomas Kelso, Esq., 
of Baltimore, was very liberal in his contributions, 



102 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

and at one time gave ;$2000 to be appropriated to 
the purchase of two pews, one for the Chief Justice 
and the other for the President of the United States. 
General Grant occupied the latter, and was quite 
regular in his attendance upon the morning service. 
He was a trustee at that time, and I believe still 
holds the office. During his administration the 
church was packed morning and evening, and al- 
though it is capable of seating 1 500 persons, some- 
times many had to be turned away. 

The spire was added two or three years after the 
church was dedicated, and with the chime of eleven 
bells, paid for through the individual efforts of the 
pastor's wife. Mr. Kelso was again the good friend, 
and contributed ;^5000 toward it, and it is known as 
the Kelso spire. 

As an inducement to friends interested in the 
church to contribute to the chime of bells, it was 
agreed that any person giving ;^500 for that pur- 
pose, should be allowed the privilege of having their 
name inscribed upon one of the bells. Rarey, the 
famous horse tamer, complied with the terms, and 
one of the. bells bears his name and the inscription, 
" In that day shall there be upon the bells of the 
horses, Holiness unto the Lord" — Zechariah xiv. 20. 



CHURCHES. 103 

The interior of the church is very handsome and 
made very interesting by the beautiful memorial 
windows, of which there are a score and more. 
They were contributed by the friends of certain 
pious and distinguished Methodists. 

The keystone of the arch over the pulpit is a piece 
of Solomon's Temple, (?) and sent for that purpose 
by the United States Consul at Jerusalem. He also 
sent the cedar of Lebanon from which the cross upon 
the pulpit is made. 

The elegant silver communion service was pre- 
sented by a wealthy lady of New York, and Harper 
& Brothers donated the Bible. 

Foundry Methodist Episcopal Church at the cor- 
ner of Fourteenth and " G" streets has a very inter- 
esting histoiy. During the war of 1 81 2 there was 
an Englishman living in Georgetown by the name 
of Henry Foxall. He was the owner of a large 
foundry, and working day and night engaged in cast- 
ing cannon for the use of the American army. The 
British officers had heard of the foundry, and were 
very anxious to gain possession in order to destroy 
it. After the battle of Bladensburg and the defeat 
of the American forces, the enemy pressed on to 
Washington, burned the Capitol, White House, and 



I04 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



other public buildings, and were about to start over 
the creek to Georgetown to destroy this foundry. 
Their fleet was anchored in the Chesapeake Bay, 
and some of their vessels had ascended the Patuxent 
River. It was in the month of August and the wea- 
ther very warm, and there arose a terrific storm 
which made the British apprehensive of being cut 
off from retreat by reason of their vessels being 
driven out to sea. So instead of going to George- 
town, they retraced their steps and embarked upon 
their ships. 

Mr. Foxall was a Christian man and a good Meth- 
odist, and he attributed the preservation of his foun- 
dry to Divine interposition, and as a thank-offering 
for the favor vouchsafed him, erected a church where 
the present building stands, and named it "Foundry 
Church." He bore the whole expense of the build- 
ing, and it was dedicated in September, 1815. It 
was enlarged in 1848, and in 1864 the present neat 
and substantial front added. President and Mrs. 
Hayes attended this church, and selected it because 
it was within walking distance of the White House. 

The Church of the Ascension, at the corner of 
Massachusetts Avenue and Twelfth Street, for style 
of architecture, beauty of the stone, and prominence 



CHURCHES. 105 

of situation, stands at the head of the churches in 
Washington. The present building is not the orig- 
inal one, nor is the site the same, for in throwing off 
the old form for the present attractive one, the con- 
gregation decided it would be better to move out of 
the business part of the city to a more populous 
neighborhood. 

The original church was built about 1844 o^^ "H" 
Street between Ninth and Tenth streets. The lot 
was a part of the property of Mrs. Van Ness, daugh- 
ter of David Burns, the Scotch farmer before men- 
tioned, who owned the land now occupied by the 
city of Washington. The family burying ground 
was there, and in 1829 Mr. and Mrs. Van Ness con- 
veyed the lots to Rev. William Hawley and Arthur 
Middleton, trustees, who were directed to transfer 
and convey the premises to the vestry whenever "an 
Episcopal church and parsonage house shall be built 
thereon." The Church of the Ascension was "built 
thereon," and the Rev. L. I. Gilliss was the first 
rector. For many years the beautiful mausoleum, 
erected by Mr. Van Ness over the remains of his 
wife, stood under the shadow of its walls, and now 
stands in Oak Hill Cemetery. 

The bustle of business each year approached 
8 



I06 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

nearer and nearer, and the structure, never a very- 
substantial one, became dilapidated and in time un- 
safe, and it was finally decided to move higher up in 
the city and build a new church upon a more desira- 
ble site, still retaining the name and congregation of 
the old one. It was necessary to dispose of the old 
lots, in order to pay for a new one, and here a ques- 
tion of law arose. Had the congregation the right 
to sell lots acquired as these were? ,The matter 
came before the courts, and after due discussion was 
decided in favor of the church, and, with the assist- 
ance of Mr. Corcoran, who is a member of this con- 
gregation, the lot was purchased on Massachusetts 
Avenue. The present building was erected in 1874, 
and the total cost amounted to nearly ;^200,ooo. It is 
of undressed white marble, with trimmings of cream- 
colored free-stone. The style is Gothic. There is a 
handsome tower finished with a symmetrical spire ; 
the windows are of richly stained glass. The stone 
glistens in the morning sunlight, and by moonlight 
the pile is indescribably beautiful. It stands upon 
next to the highest point in the city, is higher than 
Capitol Hill, and stands, as the rector once grace- 
fully expressed it, "as a white-robed messenger from 
heaven to earth." "We have arrayed the herald 



CHURCHES. 107 

of peace in the vesture of peace, that it speak at once 
the glad tidings of salvation. Proclaim these truths, 
ye white and lustrous walls! Proclaim the Sun of 
righteousness while yonder sun doth climb the east, 
and when high noon he gains, and when he falls. 
Here in the nation's centre his beams will first salute 
on yonder Capitol the symbol of the nation's liberty, 
next he will bend his rosy steps to this pile, and 
salute with warm and glad embrace the symbol of 
that liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free." 

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is another 
that has thrown off the old form and sprung up 
anew in a new locality. The first church was on 
" F" Street just above Ninth, and erected about the 
year 1794. The lot was a part of the Van Ness 
property, and at that time quite out in the country. 
A few shanties were the only houses back of it, and 
beyond them fields of corn and grass. No street 
was open between the church and the Capitol, and 
about the only means of access to the latter was a 
road crossing a small stream in the vicinity of "E" 
Street between Seventh and Ninth streets. The first 
church was quite small and stood until 18 10, when 
a better and more commodious building was erected. 



I08 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

It was of brick in the form of a Latin cross. Father 
Matthews became the pastor. 

A few years ago this old church was torn down, 
and the site is now occupied by a row of fine stores. 
The congregation commenced a new house of wor- 
ship on Tenth Street between " F" and " G." It is 
of granite and gray sandstone in the Gothic style, 
and when completed will be one of the finest churches 
in Washington. 

St. Matthews Church on "H" Street, at the corner 
of Fifteenth, is where the Catholic members of the 
Diplomatic Corps are in the habit of attending ser- 
vice. It is not so very old, having been built in 
1 838-9. The music is usually very fine. The church 
is quite large, and has a projecting portico supported 
by six immense columns of red sandstone. 

St. Augustine, another Roman Catholic Church, 
is quite new and remarkable only for having a colored 
congregation. The majority of the colored people 
throughout the South belong either to the Baptist 
or Methodist denomination, and it is unusual to find 
a flourishing Catholic, Episcopal, and Presbyterian 
congregation among them, as in Washington. St. 
Augustine has a very large attendance, and supports 
a fine choir, which attracts many from other churches 



CHURCHES. 109 

to the afternoon service, white as well as colored. 
The pressure sometimes is so great, that an entrance 
fee of ten cents is charged in order to keep back 
the crowd. 

President Arthur attends service at St. John's 
Episcopal Church on "H" Street. This church is 
very quaint in appearance, and bears the marks of 
age. It was erected about 18 16, and is beautifully 
located upon Lafayette Park. It is built in the form 
of a Latin cross, with a portico supported by six 
large columns. The exterior is rough-cast or peb- 
ble-dashed, and would present a rather weather- 
beaten, unattractive appearance if it were not for the 
English ivy and Virginia creeper, which have stolen 
up the walls and transformed it into a bower of 
beauty. The interior has been modernized and em- 
bellished, and is now very bright and tasteful. 

The church is quite small, entirely too small to 
accommodate the crowd attracted by the presence 
of the President, and there does not seem to be any 
way of enlarging it. The British Minister attends 
service there, also a number of officers of the Army 
and Navy. 



XIII. 

#^ 

PARKS AND STREETS. 

May, . 

/^"^ AN any city be more beautiful than Washington 
^-^ this lovely spring morning ? 

I fancy not. One walks about the clean, smooth 
streets and through the public grounds delighted 
with the prospect; turn whichever way you may, 
visions of sylvan loveliness charm the eye and de- 
light the heart ; the parks are brilliant with crimson, 
white, pink, purple, and yellow blossoms; the vel- 
vety turf, sparkling fountains, bright sunshine, and 
songs of birds, make it seem almost a paradise. 

The wise old fathers — who in face of so much op- 
position — selected the site for the Federal city and 
had it laid out upon so magnificent a scale, must 
have been endowed with prophetic vision, and one 
can scarcely repress the wish that they might be 
permitted to return for a brief period and look upon 
the present result of their wisdom and labor. 



PARKS AND STREETS. 1 1 1 

As beautiful as* the city appears to-day though, 
upon comparing the original designs of the founders 
regarding its embellishment with what has actually 
been done in the way of improvement, we find the 
real does not begin to come up to the ideal in point 
of magnificence. 

Some of the deviations from the original plan 
have been for the better; as, for instance, the site of 
the Washington Monument was intended originally 
to be ornamented with an equestrian statue of the 
Father of his Country. But how much more grand 
and imposing is the noble obelisk now towering 
heavenward than a statue of any kind. 

On the high ground between the Capitol and the 
Anacostia, it was intended to erect an Historic Col- 
umn, from which was to be calculated the distance 
to all places in the United States and on the Conti- 
nent. This, however, has never been erected, and 
the ground is now occupied by the Liberty Statue, 
reared by the emancipated slaves of America. This 
is a fitting substitute, I think, for it marks an epoch 
in the country's history of great importance. 

The statue, too, is extremely interesting. It is of 
bronze upon a granite base, and represents Lincoln 
standing by a monolith, holding in his right hand 



112 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

the proclamation of freedom; a slave with broken 
manacles is crouching at his feet, and the left hand 
extended over the prostrate form apparently bids it 
arise, stand up, and be a man. The base was given 
by Congress; the statue, costing ;^ 17,000, was paid 
for by the colored citizens. The first contribution 
for the purpose came from Charlotte Scott — a freed 
w^oman of Virginia — and were the first $^ earned in 
freedom. 

The Naval Column, intended to celebrate the first 
rise of the Navy, and " to stand a ready monument 
to consecrate its progress and achievements," has 
not yet been erected. It was designed to have such 
a column stand near the river at the foot of Eighth 
Street West. As our navy has progressed back- 
ward instead of forward, there is little hope of ever 
having this ornament to the city. 

Five grand fountains were to have been con- 
structed in different parts of the city, and between 
the Capitol and the Botanical Garden a grand cas- 
cade, fed from the Tiber, was to send up its sparkling 
waters in forms of grace and beauty. 

The grounds south of the President's House were 
intended to be laid out in walks and drives, and filled 
with flowers, arbors, and beautiful shrubbery. These 



PARKS AND STREETS. II3 

last -mentioned embellishments have not yet been 
added, nor are they likely to be. 

It has become a habit with moralists of the pre- 
sent time to dwell upon the simple taste and eco- 
nomical habits of our forefathers, and to hold them 
up as bright examples in matters of thrift and econ- 
omy to the rising generation. No doubt they were 
more simple in their style of living than we of the 
present generation ; but I doubt if any one can read 
their discussions and decisions regarding the embel- 
lishment of the National Capital, without being im- 
pressed with the belief that their ideas of beauty 
and finish were both ostentatious and extravagant. 

Although the original grand ideas have not been 
fully carried out, enough has been done to make 
Washington the most beautiful city in the country, 
if not in the world. 

The plan of the city — the streets running at right 
angles, intersected by wide avenues, radiating from 
the Capitol — is peculiar, but has the effect of pro- 
ducing fine vistas, and of giving room for numerous 
parks and triangles; and as the latter are kept in 
beautiful order, the emerald turf in many instances 
enlivened by parterres of bright flowers, they form 
a succession of pleasant surprises, and alternate ad- 



114 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON, 



vantageously with the many equestrian and other 
statues with which the city is now enriched. Prob- 
ably no other city of its size in the world has so 
many statues and monuments. There are, I believe, 
about thirty equestrian statues in the world, and 
Washington has six of them — one-fifth of the num- 
ber of the whole world ! 

The Irish poet, who visited the city in 1804, did 
not have the same faith in regard to its future great- 
ness and beauty as our fathers had, when he so wit- 
tily and sarcastically wrote : — 

'* In fancy, now beneath the twilight gloom 
Come, let me lead thee o'er the second Rome, 
Where tribunes rule, where dusky Davi bow. 
And what was Goose Creek once is Tiber now ; 
This fam'd metropolis, where fancy sees 
Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees, 
"Which travelling fools and gazetteers adorn 
With shrines unbuilt and heroes yet unborn." 

The trouble with Mr. Moore was, he visited the 
embryo capital just eighty years too early. 

** Squares in morasses !" Surely no man in his 
sober senses would think of calling the White House 
square " a morass !" The turf as smooth and beau- 
tiful as green velvet ; the luxuriant shrubbery and 
noble forest trees, the beds of brilliant flowers, 



PARKS AND STREETS. 



115 



smooth gravelled walks, and sparkling fountains, are 
very far removed from a swamp. 

Nor would he think of calling Lafayette Square, 
upon the opposite side of the street, " a morass." 
Seven acres of trees, shrubbery, flowers, and walks, 
to say nothing of the rampant statue of General 
Jackson, can hardly be called a morass. 

"Obelisks in trees," — continues Mr. Moore, allud- 
ing no doubt to the sturdy oaks and tall poplars so 
abundant in the city at the beginning of the century, 
— of course he could not know that Washington was 
to have an obelisk, to stand, when completed, several 
feet higher than any other structure in the world, to 
climb almost as high as the famous Tower of Babel, 
and to rival the Pyramids in solidity. 

Nor could he anticipate such a thing as the slug- 
gish waters of Goose Creek being so completely 
hidden and carried under an archway of masonry, 
and its surface turned into streets and roadways, as 
to baffle the attempt of the oldest inhabitant to 
locate its former course. 

And the improvements and changes of the city 
would not surprise him any more than the political 
changes in the country; than in finding the shackles 
removed from the " dusky Davi," and instead of 



1 1 6 NO TES ON WASHING TON. 

bondmen bowing down to the will of cruel taskmas- 
ters, standing to-day as citizens and equals, and 
more than this, holding positions of honor and re- 
sponsibility, and having a vote and voice in the 
councils of the nation. 

The city will be still more beautiful in the course . 
of five or ten years, as the trees will have increased 
in growth and will make much more show than at 
present. There are about fifteen hundred varieties 
of trees and shrubs in the public parks and through 
the streets, including some fine specimens of the 
Cedar of Lebanon. 

Why Washington should have remained for more 
than sixty years in such a crude, unfinished condi- 
tion, and so indifferent to improvement, can only be 
satisfactorily explained by the fact that it rested 
during the time under the dark cloud of slavery. 

Located upon a noble river, surrounded by a fer- 
tile country, blessed with a salubrious climate, the 
capital of a young and enthusiastic nation, with the 
national treasury to draw from, why did it not forty 
years ago become a leading city? 

In little more than twenty years San Francisco 
grew from a mere village to a city of splendid pro- 



^. PARKS AND STRBIETS. U^ 

portions, and in wealth, influence, and importance 
gained more than Washington in seventy years. 

Chicago, young enough to be the daughter of the 
" Federal City," has towered above it for years, and 
many of the villages in the new States of half a cen- 
tury now equal it in population. 

Fortunately the incubus was removed, and since 
then wonderful changes have been wrought. 

It required a terrible war to sweep away this blot 
upon our land, and Washington experienced many 
of the horrors attending it, but just as the fiery fur- 
nace is needed to set and increase the brilliancy of 
the tints used by the artist in decorating the delicate 
vase or rare plate, so was that furnace of affliction 
needed to develop, draw out, and make prominent 
the latent beauty of the Capital. 

The growth of the city, strange to say, has not 
been in the direction expected by the founders. 
They did not have the acute perception of Bishop 
Berkeley in foreseeing it is "Westward the course 
of Empire takes its way," or their plan would have 
been very different. Instead of going eastward, as 
was hoped for, the growth has been in a direction 
entirely opposite, and instead of the Capitol facing 
the city it turns its back upon the broad avenues and 



Il8 ^OTES ON WASHINGTON. 

public buildings, and smiles upon the straggling 
houses and unpaved streets of East Washington. 

At present the tide of improvement seems to be 
turning in a northwesterly direction, and rows of 
palatial residences are springing up every year. 
Some of the houses are very elegant in finish and 
embrace every style of architecture. I presume no 
other city in the country can show such variety of 
styles. 

There are specimens of ancient and modern archi- 
tecture and of the middle ages. There are Gre- 
cian temples, Norman castles, ducal palaces, Gothic 
churches, and specimens of the Renaissance. The 
modern pile of brick and mortar, with huge, ugly 
windows, stand side by side with quaint and cosey 
dwellings of Queen Anne's time; and hght and 
graceful French cottages are in pleasing contrast 
with handsome Italian villas. 



XIV. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



'T^HE White House is to me the most interesting 
-*- thing in Washington, and I am glad the ques- 
tion recently before Congress — of building a new 
mansion for the President and retaining the old for 
an executive office — did not become a law. 

There are so many pleasant associations connected 
with the building, such a halo of romance, as it were, 
about it which a new house cannot have, I hope it 
will be retained in the present form. No matter 
how imposing a new structure may be made, the 
elegance will not compensate for the loss of the de- 
lightful historical associations. 

I never enter the wide, old-fashioned portal with- 
out thinking of the long line of distinguished men 
and fair women who have passed in and out : men, 
whose names and deeds are so indissolubly con- 
nected with the history of the country; women, 



I20 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

whose beauty, grace, and intelligence have so largely 
influenced its advancement and culture. 

Every nook and corner of the old place is inter- 
esting. Representatives of every civilized nation on 
the globe have been received there ; fire, war, and 
the tempest have raged around; fashion has there 
held high carnival ; intense suffering within the 
walls has excited the sympathy and tears of the na- 
tion ; the spacious rooms have been the abode 
alternately of hope, sorrow, joy, happiness, pain, and 
ambition ; youthful hearts have plighted their troth 
beneath the old roof, and the sacred mystery sur- 
rounding the entrance into life and the exit from it 
has hovered near. No single tongue or pen could 
begin to recite the story or the changes that have 
taken place in the estate belonging to this old family 
mansion. Spare the White House, Congress! for 
no matter how grand you may make a new mansion, 
a palace, if you will, it will not be the same charming 
old homestead ! 

Although the corner-stone was laid nearly one 
year before that of the Capitol, the mansion, as it 
now appears, was not completed until 1829, It was 
partially destroyed by the British in 18 14, and re- 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 121 

stored in 1818; later the south portico was added, 
and in 1829 the north portico. 

The style of the mansion is Doric, and is a modi- 
fication of the residence of the Duke of Leinster, 
Dublin, and was suggested by Thomas Jefferson, to 
whom the country is largely indebted for this as well 
as many other things. His taste and suggestions 
were invaluable in planning and beautifying the 
National Capital. 

December 30. 

The old house is looking very fresh and attractive 
this morning in its new dress of pure white, and the 
open door so smilingly invited me to enter I could 
not resist the temptation to walk in, stroll around, 
and look upon the new adornments which have been 
completed in time for -the usual New- Year's recep- 
tion. 

The vestibule with its mosaic floor of fine English 
tiles, frescoed walls, and roomy proportions, has 
always impressed me as being sufficiently spacious, 
and handsome enough for the purpose intended ; 
but to-day I observe it has been greatly added to 
and beautified by an elegant screen of jewelled glass, 
which extends the whole length and separates the 
9 



122 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

vestibule from the central corridor. The colors are 
very rich and the play of light upon the irregular 
bits of glass very beautiful. 

A courteous guide led the way to the grand old 
East Room, which would be handsome without any 
furniture at all, but much more beautiful with the 
present tasteful and elaborate adornments. The 
floor is covered with thick Axminster carpet of 
small figure in dark rich colors upon a pale yellow 
ground. The same dark colors predominate in the 
border. There are three large mirrors, and three 
immense crystal chandeliers. 

The ceiling and walls are delicately frescoed, and 
a heavy cornice in white and gilt extends around 
the room. The furniture is of ebony, upholstered 
in old gold plush; the hangings of the windows and 
doors are of the same rich material. A portrait of 
Washington and of Lady Washington adorn the 
walls. 

The Green Room, the next in order of the suite, 
is prettily furnished in Nile green satin. The walls 
are papered in the same delicate shade with sprays 
of gilt, and ornamented with a large mirror and a 
full-length portrait of Mrs. Hayes. A small ebony 
table stands before the picture, supporting the Hia- 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 1 23 

watha canoe, purchased at the Centennial Exhibition 
by Mrs. Grant, and used as a table ornament upon 
the occasion of a state dinner. 

The Blue Room is now considered the gem of the 
suite, and may very properly be termed the Throne 
Room, for it is here the President stands to receive 
his guests upon all public occasions, and also the 
Diplomatic Corps, whenever the members may see 
proper to call. The predominating color is that 
known as robin's-egg blue. The floor is covered 
with Axminster carpet of antique blue-gray, the de- 
sign a small oval figure. The furniture is of gilt 
upholstered in blue silk canvas, through which a 
golden thread is woven to give it a changeable ap- 
pearance. The curtains are of the same material, 
trimmed at the bottom with plush of the same color, 
and at the top with heavy fringe ; they are grace- 
fully looped with folds of satin. 

The centre of the room is occupied by a circular 
divan upholstered with the silken canvas. The walls 
are also of the robin's-egg blue, and are relieved by 
a frieze about eight feet in width ; the decoration of 
this frieze is very elegant and very striking in effect. 
It consists of a number of geometrical designs, 
which being embossed upon paper have a raised 



124 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

look. The walls are quite dark at the floor, and 
gradually grow lighter higher up, and at the top are 
light gray; the lines are silvered and stand out from 
the surface. 

The ceiling is ornamented with a number of silver 
ovals. The room is oval and the figures upon the 
ceiling bear an exact proportion to the shape of the 
room. Besides the central chandelier there are four 
sconces on the walls, each with seven gas jets, with 
pendants of iridescent glass. The background of 
each sconce is of glass mosaic work; the glass being 
cut into fantastic shapes and arranged in the form 
of a large rosette, with small mirrors inserted here 
and there. The effect is extremely beautiful when 
the gas-jets are lighted and the background flashes 
forth its rays fr«m almost every point. 

The open fireplace is surrounded with tiles of 
blue opal semi-transparent glass, and has a hand- 
some fender and massive andirons. 

It is only a step from the Blue Room into the 
Red Room — but how changed the scene ! The floor 
of this room is covered with a thick carpet of dark 
red, the same small design prevailing as in the other 
rooms. The walls are of Pompeiian red, growing 
lighter near the ceiling. The latter is beautifully 



THE WHITE HOUSE, 



125 



painted, and stars of bronze and copper glisten with 
great brightness over head. The walls are finished 
with a frieze, the design being somewhat suggestive 
of the stripes of the national flag. The windows 
are draped with crimson plush curtains, and a broad 
band of the same material forms the frame of the 
large mirror over the mantel. The most attractive 
thing about the room is the old-fashioned mantel- 
piece, copied from the style of the twelfth century. 
It is of carved red-wood, with panels of Japanese 
leather slightly sunken. Under the wooden shelf 
the space is filled in with glass mosaics, giving it 
the appearance of being studded with gems. Semi- 
transparent brown glass tiles surround the open fire- 
place, and the old-fashioned brass andirons rest upon 
earthenware tiles. A full-length portrait of Presi- 
dent Arthur hangs upon the wall. 

The State Dining-room is beyond the Red Room, 
but not open to the general visitor, only the privi- 
leged few being permitted to take a peep within. 
This is not much of a disappointment, though, for 
it is ordinarily a very plain apartment, and needs to 
make it attractive snowy damask, sparkling glass, 
glittering silver, elegant toilets, fair faces, fragrant 



126 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

flowers, and bright lights — the usual adjuncts of a 
state dinner. 

A state dinner of the present time is a very dif- 
ferent affair from that of the days of Washington, 
our first President. 

At a dinner recently given by President Arthur 
there were thirty-six guests. The whole suite of 
parlors and the conservatory were thrown open and 
brilliantly lighted. Banks of choice cut flowers were 
heaped in all available places, and potted plants 
grouped about the rooms. 

The ladies were in full evening dress, and the 
Marine Band discoursed sweet music throughout 
the feast. The dinner was of sixteen courses, and 
with it were served seven varieties of wine. 

The table was covered with the finest and whitest 
of damask ; a long mirror was laid down the centre, 
its edges wreathed with roses; an Indian canoe, 
about three feet long, composed of red and white 
carnations, was set upon it; the seats were repre- 
sented by closely set white roses, and the body of 
the canoe filled in with Jacqueminot roses and leaves. 
At either end of the centre-piece were square cush- 
ions of moss set with calla lilies, and beyond them 
epergnes overflowing with Jacqueminot and Marshal 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



127 



Neil roses. Flower - wreathed candelabras with 
waxen candles were grouped at the corners of the 
table. A choice bouquet, tied with rich satin rib- 
bon, was presented to each lady. 

The finest Presidential dinner given by Washing- 
ton, in 1789, is thus described by one present: — 

"The President, the Vice-President, the Foreign 
Ministers, the heads of departments of Government, 
the Speaker of the House, and the Senators from New 
Hampshire and the Senators from Georgia, being the 
two States from the northern and southern extremi- 
ties of the Union, made the company at the table. 
It was the least showy dinner that I ever saw at the 
President's table, and the company was not large. 
The President made his whole dinner on a boiled leg 
of mutton. It was his usual practice to eat of but 
one dish. As there was no chaplain present, the 
President himself said a very short grace as he was 
sitting down. 

"After the dinner and dessert were finished, one 
glass of wine was passed round the table, and no 
toast. The President arose, and all the company of 
course, and retired to the drawing-room, from which 
the guests departed as every one chose, without 
ceremony." 



128 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

January I, 1883. 

This has been an eventful day at the White House. 
The customary New- Year's reception began under 
very happy auspices, but was abruptly ended by an 
extraordinary occurrence, made more remarkable by 
the highly dramatic surroundings. 

The mansion was thrown open at an early hour 
and never appeared to better advantage. The par- 
lors were in holiday attire, and the floral decorations 
profuse and beautiful. The city was bathed in a 
flood of sunshine, and under its inspiring influence 
both old and young entered heartily into the festivi- 
ties of the day. 

At eleven o'clock the President took his stand in 
the Blue Parlor, and was immediately surrounded 
with his Cabinet officers and the ladies he had in- 
vited to assist him in receiving the distinguished 
visitors who pay their respects to the Chief Magis- 
trate upon the first day of the New Year. 

The party formed a brilliant group under the cen- 
tral chandelier, and the exquisite toilets of the ladies 
were in keeping with the elegant surroundings. 

Mrs. Frelinghuysen, wife of the Secretary of State, 
stood at the President's right, becomingly and richly 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



129 



attired in black satin, trimmed with Mechlin lace, 
worn over a court train of black velvet. 

Mrs. Chandler, the wife of the Secretary of the 
Navy, wore an elegant dress of shrimp-pink satin 
combined with claret velvet, and elaborately trimmed 
with point lace. 

Mrs. Keifer, wife of the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, wore a handsome dress of Ottoman 
silk combined with brocaded silk in dark and light 
shades of electric blue. 

Mrs. Senator Hkwley was dressed in a combina- 
tion suit of plush, silk, and velvet in shades of pale 
blue. 

Mrs. Jones, of Nevada, was attired in pale pink 
moire, elaborately embroidered in crystal and gar- 
nished with rare lace. 

The costumes of the other ladies present were 
equally as beautiful as those I have described, and 
the company an exceptionally brilliant one. 

The President was smiling and gracious; the ladies 
all life and animation; the mansion radiant with 
bright flowers and sunshine ; the new decorations 
and furniture invited attention ; soft strains of music 
floated through the corridors and reached the ear of 
those waiting at the threshold to enter. A long line 



130 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



of officers and citizens formed in the grounds in or- 
der that each might enter in turn without confusion, 
and in the Red Room were gathered the Diplomatic 
Corps. 

There were present the Chinese Minister in full 
Mandarin costume, wearing the red button and pea- 
cock feather of high State occasions ; the Spanish 
Minister, resplendent in his court dress of blue and 
gold; Senor Felippe Lopes Netto, the Brazilian 
Minister, in his green court dress with its golden 
fleurs de lis, and upon his breast seven brilliant dec- 
orations; the Mexican Minister, Don Mattias Ro- 
mero, accompanied by his wife, the latter wearing a 
gorgeous dress of royal purple velvet and a full pa- 
rure of diamonds; representatives from Italy, Bel- 
gium, France, Turkey, and Russia, each wearing 
their particular insignia of rank. Would it be pos- 
sible to find a more unusual or more brilliant pa- 
geant? and could anything be in greater contrast 
than the sad event which followed and suddenly 
ended the reception? The Honorable Elisha H. 
Allen, the Hawaiian Minister, wearing the broad 
badge of the order of Kamehameha III., led the way 
from the Red Room into the Blue Parlor, paid his 
respects to the President, chatted a short time with 



THE WHITE HOUSE. I3I 

the ladies, and passed on to the East Room, ex- 
changing pleasant greetings with all the friends he 
met. 

Upon going to the ante-room for his hat and coat 
he was suddenly seized with rheumatism of the heart, 
fell senseless to the floor, and in a few moments ex- 
pired. 

Instead of smiles and congratulations, there were 
awe-stricken faces and hushed tones ! Instead of 
music and laughter, consternation and hurried foot- 
steps ! Instead of eager, joyous anticipation, cold, 
stern reality ! Of what avail at that moment were 
rank, money, friends ? and in what respect did the 
palace differ from the hovel? 

The President, shocked by the sudden appearance 
of the messenger of Death, ordered the house closed, 
and that, which a few moments before promised to 
be the most brilliant reception ever held at the White 
House, suddenly ended in sadness and gloom. 



XV. 



THE LOUISE HOME. 



T MPECUNIOUS old age always appeals very 
-*- strongly to the sympathies of the humane and 
charitable, but when it is a refined, delicate woman 
left destitute, there seems to be a peculiar demand 
for help and sympathy. It is very hard for those 
who have spent the greater part of their lives in 
cheerful, luxurious homes, to be forced in old age, 
through loss of fortune, husband, or friends, to seek 
shelter in a public institution. 

However well conducted such institutions may be, 
there must necessarily be many persons in them of 
uncultivated manners, arfd with habits so entirely 
different from one accustomed to the refinements of 
life, the very thought of being obliged to spend their 
declining years in such a place is repulsive to a re- 
fined person. 

W. W. Corcoran was blessed with a lovely wife 



THE LOUISE HOME. 1 33 

and a fair daughter, and his conception of the idea 
of rearing an elegant home for aged ladies of desti- 
tute circumstances, shows his high estimation of 
woman, and its execution the most beautiful tribute 
he could have paid the memory of that wife and 
daughter. 

Mrs. Corcoran was very beautiful, and died at an 
early age. Her daughter was equally handsome, 
and died a few years after marriage, leaving three 
little children. The mother and daughter each bore 
the name of Louise, and in their memory the hus- 
band and father erected the " Louise Home" for the 
benefit of reduced gentlewomen. 

The building is quite imposing, and stands upon 
a high terrace surrounded with extensive grounds 
filled with flowers and ornamental shrubbery. It 
has been in operation since 1871, and was designed 
especially for ladies over fifty years of age who had 
never labored for their own support and were without 
money and friends. 

Everything is provided for the inmates with the 
exception of clothing. Board, washing, medical at- 
tendance, medicines, and a comfortable room are fur- 
nished each lady, and she is not restricted in any 
way. Of course the places are eagerly sought for, 



134 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

and applications pour in by the dozen, but as only 
forty-five can be accommodated at one time, it is 
very difficult to secure one. 

The building is of brick, with brown-stone trim 
mings. The exterior is made very attractive in the 
summer season by a beautiful vine growing luxuri- 
antly over the walls. The- interior is very bright and 
pleasant, and has been planned with a view to light 
and ventilation. There is a central rotunda of oval 
form open to the roof, with a glass canopy. The 
rooms are arranged upon three galleries, so that one 
is quite as desirable as another as far as light and 
ventilation are concerned. They are handsomely fur- 
nished with pretty Brussels carpets and walnut furni- 
ture, and the ladies add their own little ornaments 
and pictures. 

The floors of the rotunda, galleries, hall, and stairs 
are heavily oiled, and the whole building heated by 
steam. The dining-room is spacious and well fur- 
nished; the glass, china, silver, and table-linen of 
the best quality and style. 

With all this care for the ordinary comforts of life 
though, it would be dreary living if nothing were 
done for the gratification of the intellectual and aes- 
thetic taste. 



THE LOUISE HOME. 



135 



I find this has also been remembered In establish- 
ing this attractive Home. A suite of handsomely 
furnished parlors affords room for recreation, where 
the ladies can enjoy music, reading, and conversa- 
tion. 

There is a library with well-filled book-cases, and 
the daily papers are laid upon the table every morn- 
ing. Exquisitely beautiful portraits of Mrs. Corco- 
ran and her daughter adorn the walls; there is also 
a very fine portrait of Mr. Corcoran, and various 
other works of art scattered through the rooms. 



XVI. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

'^ I "HE application of book-learning to such a 
^ practical, common-sense business as tilling the 
soil, no doubt appears very absurd to the old farmer 
who is cultivating the ancestral estate to-day pre- 
cisely as his father and grandfather did before him. 
And were he to visit Washington, would probably 
be so prejudiced, it would be impossible to induce 
him to go near the Department where they have a 
whole library bearing upon the subject. 

Statistics about worms and bugs, rainfalls and 
frost areas, chemical analysis and kindred matters, 
are of little interest to him, and he will tell you, of 
no assistance whatever to a farmer, compared with 
early rising and hard work. The old man may, by 
dint of hard labor, manage to get along after a 
fashion, but the time is coming when his children 
and grandchildren will have to enter into competi- 



DEPAR TMENT OF A GRICUL TURE. 



137 



tion with those who do practise book-farming, and 
unless they read up and avail themselves of the 
same helps, must be left far behind in the race. 

We are pre-eminently an agricultural people, and 
it is remarkable, in view of the great interest taken 
in such pursuits by the founders of our Government, 
so many years should have elapsed before the estab- 
lishment of a bureau devoted specially to the subject. 

The Department of Agriculture was not estab- 
lished as a separate department until 1862. Con- 
gress had appropriated money for the distribution of 
cuttings and seeds some time previous to that year, 
but the work was done in the basement of the Patent 
Office. 

The demands of the country gradually led to the 
enlargement of the bureau, and by Act of May 15, 
1862, a department was authorized, the general de- 
sign and duties of which " shall be to acquire and 
to diffuse among the people of the United States 
useful information on subjects connected with agri- 
culture in the most general and comprehensive sense 
of that word, and to procure, propagate, and dis- 
tribute among the people new and valuable seeds 
and plants." 

A Commissioner was also authorized by the same 
10 



138 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

Act to be appointed by the President, with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, who was to acquire and 
to preserve in his Department all information con- 
cerning agricuhure which he could obtain by means 
of books and correspondence, and by practical and 
scientific experiments; by the collection of statistics, 
and by any other appropriate means within his 
power. 

The Department has been in successful operation 
ever since, and each year is enlarging the scope of 
its influence and throwing new light upon every 
question bearing upon the cultivation of the land, 
whether for purposes of food, clothing, or manufac- 
ture. The building, located upon reservation Num- 
ber 2, between the Washington Monument and the 
Smithsonian Institution, is of brick, 170 feet long 
by 61 feet deep, with brown-stone trimmings, and 
finished with a Mansard roof. The grounds are 
handsomely laid out, and ornamented with flowers 
and shrubbery. The lawn in front is divided into 
an upper and lower garden, and in the summer sea- 
son brilliant with parterres of bright colored flowers 
and borders of closely trimmed coleus. 

The greenhouses, filled with tropical plants, are at 



DEPA R TMENT OF A GRICUL TURK. 



139 



the west end of the building, and the experimental 
garden beyond them. 

The interior of the building is handsomely fin- 
ished in maple, walnut, and mahogany. The floors 
are inlaid in tiles of buff, blue, and brown, and the 
ceilings in some parts elaborately frescoed. 

The library, on the main floor, contains nearly 
13,000 volumes, comprising all the standard works 
upon chemistry, botany, entomology, and other sub- 
jects relating to agriculture. There are a number of 
foreign works, and a regular system of exchange is 
kept up with the horticultural, agricultural, and po- 
mological societies of England, Germany, France, 
and Italy. These books are intended for reference 
only, and are not to be taken from the library. 

On the second floor there is quite a large museum 
containing many interesting things. The plaster 
casts of fruits and vegetables are particularly attrac- 
tive, and I think every farmer and fruit-grower in 
the land would do well to see them, and if he has 
any ambition whatever, he will not be satisfied until 
he can excel, or at least equal, them in his own 
garden or orchard. 

There is a large collection of grains and cereals, 
both native and foreign ; specimens of flax and 



140 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

Other fibrous products, stuffed birds and animals, 
and foreign woods. 

Cotton is exhibited from the different States, and 
also placed in contrast with that grown in other 
countries. 

There is a case filled with wool of various degrees 
of fineness. The Department has bestowed much 
attention upon this subject, and has spared neither 
time nor labor in making examinations and measure- 
ments of the fineness of the fibres. " It is difficult," 
says the Commissioner in a recent report, "by a writ- 
ten description, to make one unacquainted with the 
methods necessarily involved in the accurate execu- 
tion of this work, comprehend the amount of tedious 
and patient labor required, but an approximate idea 
of it may be obtained from the fact that it has been 
necessary to make with the microscope at least sev- 
enty-five thousand individual measurements of fibres, 
the immediate results of which, to secure the accu- 
racy desired, were of necessity relative, so that each 
one had to be reduced by calculation to the absolute 
standard. We have thus measured in all about six 
hundred samples of wool of different qualities, mak- 
ing altogether about 2100." 

The museum is yet in its infancy, but interesting 



DE PA R TMENT OF A GRICUL TURE. 1 4 1 

exhibits are added each year. In the centre of the 
room is a large table 1 1 feet 7 inches by 6 feet 9 
inches, made of a single plank of California red- 
wood. It is highly polished, has a fine grain, and 
in color resembles dark mahogany. A large vase of 
Florida coquina shell-rock stands in the centre of the 
table. 

The Department is very liberal in the distribution 
of seeds, and while a large share of the supply falls 
to members of Congress, to be distributed among 
their constituents, they do not have the exclusive use 
of them-. Any person can make a request for seeds, 
and if it is within reasonable bounds, may be very 
sure of obtaining them. 

From July I, 1 88 1, to June 30, 1882, 2,396,476 
packages were distributed, embracing flower seeds, 
corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, vegetable 
seeds, cotton, hemp, flax, jute, ramie, sorghum, cof- 
fee, and tea-seed. 

The cultivation of tea in this country has not been 
a success, and the enterprise may be considered prac- 
tically abandoned on the part of the Government. 
Individuals may continue it in the future for their 
own use, as experiments have shown that the plant 
will grow and reach some degree of perfection in 



142 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

certain Southern States, though it cannot be made 
profitable, and does not compare with the imported 
article in strength and flavor. 

The pretty visions which for some time floated 
before the eyes of Congressmen of fragrant, steam- 
ing cups of Oriental tea raised at our own door, I 
fear are never to be realized. America is a great 
country and her people can do almost everything 
under the sun, but I think the manufacture of pekoe, 
oolong, sojachong, and bohea a little too far beyond 
their reach. 

True, we have the plant from which the above are 
all made, but we do not have the swarthy, almond- 
eyed Celestial, capable of living on a handful of rice 
a day and satisfied with a board for a bed at night, 
to manipulate it for us — to assort, dry, color, scent, 
and to roll each individual leaf into a particular shape, 
and to add the plumbago, turmeric, gum, gypsum, 
indigo, and other adulterations necessary. As a peo- 
ple we know something about adulterating; but we 
do not know exactly how much plumbago or indigo 
it takes to convert old hyson into young hyson, or 
pekoe into gunpowder, nor how miany orange-blos- 
soms, cape jessamine, etc., to add to give the requi- 
site scent and flavor. 



DEPAR TMENT OF A GRICUL TURE. 1 43 

And even if we understood and could do all these 
things, I venture to assert the beverage prepared 
from the home - manufactured article would never 
taste just right to one who enjoys " the cups that 
cheer but not inebriate," for the reason it was not 
taken from a lead-lined chest, covered all over with 
pagodas, fans, grotesque figures in flowing robes 
standing upon the heads of others still more gro- 
tesque, and the whole having a peculiar, unmistak- 
able odor of the sea. No! if we want genuine 
Oriental tea, we will be obliged to bring John China- 
man over to make it, and then will have to give each 
crop a short sea-voyage in order to have it just right. 

Congress has appropriated ^^ 15,000 for the en- 
couragement of tea-culture since July i, 1880. Pre- 
vious to that time 200 acres of land w^ere leased near 
Summerville, S. C, and the work continued, with the 
help of the new appropriation, upon a larger scale 
than had heretofore been attempted. For nearly 
twenty years experiments have been made in a small 
way and numbers of tea-plants were annually dis- 
tributed. 

The climate of South Carolina is not the most 
favorable one for the growth of the plant, and the 
choice of land there apparently not a wise one, for 



144 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



Mr. Saunders, the horticulturist of the Department, 
who was detailed by the Commissioner to make an 
examination of the plantation, reports: "With re- 
gard to the future prospects of the enterprise, if con- 
tinued in the line of the present scheme and under 
the present system, it may be said that there is not 
much room for encouragement ; . . however un- 
fortunate it may be, it is clearly evident that the tea 
experiments must be made in a more southern lati- 
tude." 

The Department has been rather more successful 
in the experiment of manufacturing sugar from sor- 
ghum. It has been demonstrated that sugar can be 
made from cane grown as far north as Washington, 
but whether it can ever be made a profitable branch 
of industry is still an open question. 

The culture of silk is one of the most interesting 
subjects before the Department, and the Commis- 
sioner in his last report has collected a number of 
facts relating to culture and details, the experience of 
persons in different parts of the country who have 
ventured upon the rearing of silk-worms. 

In view of the terrible ravages of grasshoppers, 
army worms, and other insects in various parts of 
the country, too much attention cannot be given to 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL TURE. 



US 



the study of their habits. The Department has 
entered largely upon this work, and a number of 
accomplished scientific gentlemen are at present 
engaged in making special investigations looking to 
the control of a few of the worst of our insect pests. 



XVII. 

STATE, WAR, AND NAV\" DEPARTMENTS. 

'^ I ^HE building on the square west of the White 
^ House stands second to the Capitol in point 
of size, elegance, and cost. It takes up the entire 
square, and is entirely different from the other public 
buildings. The structure was commenced in 1871, 
for the use of the State, War, and Navy Depart- 
ments, and is all completed with the exception of one 
wing. The basement story is of Maine granite, the 
superstructure of Virginia granite, and the stone has 
been finished in the most artistic manner. Notwith- 
standing the very elaborate ornamentation, the pile 
has a substantial and imposing appearance. 

The four facades are similar. There is a project- 
ing portico supported by groups of small graceful 
columns, which rest upon a massive granite platform. 
High flights of granite steps ascend to the portico, 
and groups of columns are used in the decorations 



S TA TE, WA R, A ND NA VY DEPA R TMENTS, \ 47 

all the way to the roof. The whole is crowned with 
a Mansard roof. The cost is estimated at ;^5, 000,000. 

The interior is quite as elegant as the exterior. A 
wide corridor, paved in black and white marble, ex- 
tends around each wing. The staircases are of 
granite, exquisitely dressed, and guarded by balus- 
ters of bronze. The offices are fitted up in the best 
style, and some are quite handsome. 

The wing devoted to the use of the State Depart- 
ment faces the Potomac River, and a fine view can 
be obtained from the upper windows. 

The library on the third floor is a beautiful room, 
and prepared expressly for the reception of books. 
There are four tiers of alcoves, and the room is open 
to the roof with a skylight of ground glass. The 
painted parts are delicately tinted and gilded. The 
floor is of fine tiles laid in designs of various kinds, 
embracing circles, ovals, flowers and leaves of blue 
white, and brown. 

The collection of books is very valuable, and 
there are at present a number of interesting historical 
documents and relics. In a glass case near the door 
is the magnificent silver vase, presented by the city 
of Philadelphia to Commodore Isaac Hull for his 
gallantry in bringing into action and destroying the 



148 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

British sloop-of-war " Guerriere." It stands nearly 
two and one-half feet high, is in the form of an urn 
surmounted by a finely wrought silver eagle. His 
sword and a pair of gold-mounted pistols are in the 
same case. 

In the centre of the room there is a larger case 
filled with interesting objects, among them an auto- 
graph letter of Peter the Great, an illustrated book 
printed at Nuremberg in 1493, a club or sword-hilt 
taken from pirates in the Straits of Madagascar, the 
desk upon which the Declaration of Independence 
was written, a whale's tooth, sent as a treaty by the 
King of Fiji to the United States, Benjamin Frank- 
lin's staff, and many other things quite as interesting. 

But the most valuable thing in the room, and the 
most interesting to all Americans, is the Declaration 
of Independence itself. The parchment upon which 
it is written is very w^ell preserved. A few names 
have faded, but the text can be read very easily. It 
is arranged in a sort of cabinet against the wall, 
secured under plate glass. The doors protect it from 
the light, and when they are opened it can be read 
through the glass without handling. Directly under 
the document is the original draft of the Declaration, 
and to me more interesting than the instrument 



STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS. 149 

itself, for it shows all the erasures, all the interlinea- 
tions and changes made by the illustrious author as 
new thoughts were suggested to him, or improve- 
ments suggested by those to whom it was submitted 
for examination. It is only a torn, yellow, blotted 
sheet of paper, but oh ! how important in the results 
flowing from the words inscribed thereon. 

On the second floor is the Diplomatic Reception 
Room, where the Secretary of State on Thursdays 
receives the members of the Diplomatic Corps w^ho 
may be inclined to call. It is quite large, and longer 
than wide. The floor is inlaid with hard wood 
highly polished, and covered with two thick Turkish 
rugs. Two long tables of ebonized wood with dark 
velvet tops occupy the space down the centre of the 
room. The furniture, consisting of sofas, arm-chairs, 
and luxurious divans, is also of ebonized wood and 
upholstered in figured brocade of sombre colors, 
blended so harmoniously as to produce the general 
effect of blue-gray ; a gold thread is woven with the 
brocade and adds very much to the richness of the 
material. The three large windows are heavily 
draped with the brocade, looped back with cord and 
tassels over fine lace curtains. The ceiling is very 
high and exquisitely frescoed in the same quiet 



ISO 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



colors prevailing in the furniture. A large square 
mirror with frame of ebony is in the wall opposite 
the windows, and beautifully carved mantels of the 
same kind of wood occupy the space at the ends of 
the room. There are three highly polished chande- 
liers, and a pair of grates of burnished steel. 

Portraits of Webster, Seward, Fish, Evarts, and 
Lord Ashburton adorn the walls. 

Altogether the room is in perfect taste and har- 
mony, and sufficiently handsome, I think, to bear 
the criticism — if they are disposed to criticize — of 
those who have been accustomed to the splendor 
and display of courts of royalty. 

The ante-room contains a life-size portrait of the 
Bey of Tunis, sent by a special messenger to this 
country in 1865, together with a le.tter of condolence 
on the assassination of President Lincoln. 

In the safe, in the office of the disbursing clerk, is 
kept the sword with which General Jackson fought 
the battle of New Orleans. The genial officer in 
charge relates with great glee the story of an enthu- 
siastic Southern lady coming to the office one day, 
and upon the sword being shown her, reverently 
bending over and kissing and dropping a tear upon 



STA TE, WAR, AND NA VY DEPARTMENTS, i ^ i 

it, believing it to be the sword of General " Stone- 
wall" Jackson! 



The wing occupied by the Navy Department is 
very similar to the other parts of the building. The 
halls, stairways, balustrades, etc., are quite as hand- 
some as the others, and the office of the Secretary a 
perfect gem in its way. 

The library is much more elegant than that of the 
State Department, and the librarian claims that it has 
no equal in this country. The books are hidden away 
in adjoining alcoves, and the main room called the 
reception-room. It is thirty by forty feet, with an 
inlaid floor of the finest English tiling. The centre- 
piece is very elaborate, and represents a blazing star. 
The walls are formed of marble panels, those of the 
first story being of malachite, with narrow borders 
of Sienna marble and a wider border of red griotte 
from France. The whole panel is encased in a mas- 
sive iron frame richly bronzed, and separated by pi- 
lasters with Corinthian capitals. The second story 
is open to the roof, and guarded with a handsome 
bronze balustrade, ornamented with mythological 
figures and inlaid with circular pieces of Mexican 
onyx. The gaslights in the first story are in the 



152 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



corners and supported by handsome bronze figures 
representing, respectively, "War and Peace," "In- 
dustry," "Goddess of Liberty," and the "Arts and 
Sciences." The chandelier in the upper story rests 
upon the prow of an Egyptian barge intended to 
represent Cleopatra's barge. On one side stands a 
female figure attired in the Egyptian costume and 
the other is wreathed with ferns and bulrushes. 

The block of green marble over the entrance was 
taken from the temple at Pompeii. It has the word 
"Library" cut in deep letters and heavily gilded. 
The stone was presented by a gentleman residing in 
New York, very much interested in the Navy De- 
partment. 



XVIII. 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 



'nr^HE Post-Office Department is not considered 
^ particularly interesting by the residents of 
Washington, and strangers in the city rarely ever 
visit it. I had the curiosity one day to penetrate its 
mysterious recesses, to take a peep at the fountain- 
head from whence flow all those large streams and 
tiny rivulets,, which find their way to every city, 
town, and hamlet of the States and Territories of our 
great country, and beyond it to every part of the 
world. I was both surprised and delighted with 
what I found there. 

It is so very easy for one to snatch up a sheet of 
paper, scribble upon it a few lines, inclose it in an 
envelope, and address it to a friend away off in Ore- 
gon, or perhaps in Florida, or maybe in the north- 
ernmost corner of Maine, then walk to the nearest 
post-office or lamp-post and drop it in the box, feel- 
II 



154 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ing sure that in due time it will reach its destination 
without any more trouble on his part. 

' All this has become so much a matter of course 
that one seldom cares to inquire why it is so easy, 
or desires to learn anything about the wonderful 
mechanism of this important arm of the body-politic. 

The system has been brought so near perfection, 
and so many safeguards have been thrown around 
the mail-bag, that probably out of every one thousand 
letters mailed nine hundred and ninety-nine reach 
their destination whether they are properly super- 
scribed or not. The pains taken to deliver to the 
proper person every letter or package committed to 
the mail is remarkable, and no matter how soiled, 
how illiterate or apparendy worthless either may 
appear, the same patient, diligent search is made to 
discover the person to whom it belongs. 

A very good idea of the vast amount of work 
done by this Department may be obtained from the 
figures representing its disbursements and receipts 
for a single year. 

For the year 1882 ;$40482,02i.23 were disbursed. 
The ordinary receipts amounted to ^41,515,642.80, 
and the receipts from money orders to ^360,767.35, 
leaving, after the settlement of certain outstanding 



POST- OFFICE DEPAR TMENT. 



55 



liabilities, an excess of receipts over expenditures of 
;^330,o5o.89. 

These figures are also cheerful figures, for they 
show that, whereas in i860 the deficiency was 
;^ 1 0,000,000, it has not only been greatly reduced 
but an excess of receipts over expenditures of 
^^330,050.89. 

The amount of work done by the railway mail 
service in a single year will give some idea of what 
a letter-writing people we are. 

During the year there were handled by the rail- 
way postal clerks 2,155,213,880 letters and postal 
cards, 1,278,176,630 pieces of other mail mat- 
ter, being a total of 3,433,390,480 pieces, besides 
14,234,310 registered packages, and 570,483 through 
registered pouches. 

In handling this immense number of pieces, 
902,489 errors were committed, or one error for 
every 3805 pieces handled. Considering that postal 
clerks perform their work on cars while in rapid mo- 
tion, that they must work with great celerity, and 
yet make but one error in every 3805 pieces han- 
dled, it is believed that for accuracy this corps may 
safely challenge comparison with any other service 
in this country or elsewhere. 



1^6 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

The Dead-Letter Office — so called — I found to be 
about the liveliest place I ever visited, and under the 
management of its efficient Superintendent is ac- 
complishing wonders in the way of disposing of 
matters returned to it for treatment. I confess to 
much ignorance upon the subject of dead letters, 
previous to my visit, and imagined there was but 
one class of letters ever returned ; but I discovered 
that there were at least six different classes. 

A ''dead letter" is one properly addressed, post- 
age properly paid and reaches its destination in due 
time, remains in the post-office a reasonable time, 
advertised, and remains unclaimed one month. Of 
this class 3,049,952 were received at the Department 
during the year 1882. 

" Hotel letters" are those sent by proprietors of 
hotels and boarding-houses which have accumulated 
upon their hands from time to time. Many persons 
go to watering-places and other resorts for a brief 
stay, have their letters addressed to the hotel at 
which they may be stopping and then suddenly 
change their plans and go off in another direction 
without leaving any address behind them. Of this 
class 83,189 were returned to the Dead-Letter Office 
during the year 1882, 



POS T- OFFICE DEPAR TMENT. i ^ j 

A great many letter-writers in their hurry and 
carelessness do not take pains to ascertain if their 
letter is over weight, and attach one stamp when it 
may require two or three, and in consequence the 
letter is held at the local office for postage. Of this 
class 275,240 were returned to the Department last' 
year. 

Again, some articles are forbidden to be trans- 
ported in the mails. Of these 954 parcels were 
returned to the Dead-Letter Office. 274,715 were 
returned on account of erroneous or illegible super- 
scription, and, astounding as it may be,. 11,711 bore 
no superscription whatever ! 

The number of parcels of merchandise, books, 
clothing, needlework, jewelry, etc., received during 
1882, 60,476. 

The total number of dead letters mailed abroad, 
356,287. It is the rule of the Department to return 
these to their respective countries unopened; that is, 
to those countries entering into the Postal Union — 
and very few at present have not. 

The majority of foreign letters returned to the 
Dead-Letter Office are for Italians. The representa- 
tives of that race in America are principally of the 
lower classes, and lead a migratory life. Hand-or- 



158 NOTES ON WASHING TON. 

gans, monkeys, and penny shows do not pay very 
well if confined to one locality, hence they travel. 

Emigrants branching out from New York and 
other seaboard cities, owing to their ignorance of the 
country and our way of doing things, are not aware 
they can leave orders to have their letters forwarded ; 
and the correspondence following their arrival accu- 
mulates in those large offices and has to be returned 
to the Department. Again, country postmasters are 
not always able to read a foreign address, and not 
reading properly, unable to advertise the letter pro- 
perly, and the party to whom it is addressed very 
likely never hears anything about it, and in time it 
finds its way to the Dead-Letter Office. 

The statistics of the office are interesting as show- 
ing the contents of the letters. Of the domestic 
letters opened in 1882, 19,989 contained money 
amounting to ;$44,326.65 ; 24,575 contained drafts, 
checks, money -orders, etc., to the amount of 
;^ 1, 962,4 1 3.73. 52,463 contained postage stamps; 
44,731 contained receipts, paid notes, and cancelled 
obligations of all sorts ; and 39,242 contained pho- 
tographs. Sending photographs through the mail 
has become such a universal practice, and so many 
of them from careless preparation fail to reach their 



FOS T- OFFICE DEPAR TMENT. i 5 9 

destination, it has been necessary for the Depart- 
ment to open registers, where a daily account is 
kept of the large number received. A description is 
given in the register, as far as possible, of each pack- 
age and the date of mailing, so that the same may 
be traced and identified if application is made for it 
at some future time. Numbers have been returned 
in this way. 

By reason of making the Post-Office Department 
a common carrier of merchandise, the work has been 
greatly increased, as well as the expenses, without 
commensurate remuneration. 

People are so careless about wrapping, weighing, 
and addressing packages intended for the mail-bag, 
that large numbers of them in consequence find their 
way to the Dead-Letter Office ; and as it is impossi- 
ble to ascertain from whom they came and for whom 
intended, there is nothing left for the Department 
but to retain them. 

There are also many unmailable articles dropped 
into the various offices over the country, and they 
too are retained. In this way many interesting and 
curious things have accumulated in the office, and it 
has been customary, heretofore, to have a sale of 



l6o NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

them once each year and the proceeds turned over 
to the United States Treasury. 

During the present year the Superintendent has 
arranged a number of these articles' in cases, and to- 
gether they form a museum of remarkable interest. 
Unlike all other museums though, which have ex- 
hibits labelled and a history appended when it can be 
done, the contents of this one are without history. 
No one can tell from whom they came nor for whom 
the precious memento was intended, and one needs 
to make a personal inspection of them to be con- 
vinced that such things could really have been com- 
mitted to the mail. 

There is a fascinating mystery surrounding each 
article, and some of them so suggestive of thoughtful, 
loving care for an absent one, as to bring a tear to 
the eye of the interested observer. 

In some instances, though very rare, the history is 
known, and there is a special reason for retaining 
them. 

A human skull, for one thing, was sent to a phy- 
sician; but as the postage was not prepaid he de- 
clined to receive it. Three snakes — a rattlesnake, 
an adder, and a spotted snake were sent to the mu- 
seum in Germany — but as the mail is not intended 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. i6l 

for the transportation of live snakes in a perforated tin 
box they were stopped. They are preserved in the 
office in alcohol. 

A sample brick was held for short postage. A large 
black leather valise for being above the prescribed 
size. A wooden wash-board for the same reason. 

Some of the things are very curious ! A petrified 
human ear may have an interesting history, if we 
could only learn it. A* fossil fish, a box of butter- 
flies, and a box of South American beetles were 
probably intended for some enthusiastic naturalist. 

An industrious and enterprising planter forwarded 
to his factor a miniature bale of cotton and a speci- 
men of the same in the boll ; but he will wait long 
for a favorable market, if he depends upon the fac- 
tor's report upon said bale. 

A bladder filled with snuff might have delighted 
the eyes of the intended recipient, but is rather an 
unsightly object in a museum. 

From the number of spoons, ladles, saucepans, 
dust-pans, etc., some one must have undertaken to 
furnish a house by mail. 

Everything necessary for a horse except a saddle 
are exhibited : bridles, whips, spurs, martingales, etc. 
I have no doubt if mail facilities are increased as 



1 62 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

much in the next twenty-five years as they have been 
in the last quarter of a century, we will be able to 
send not only saddles by mail but the horse also, 
and wagons and barrels of flour as well. 

Pecks of ore pass through the mails. The mu- 
seum has fine specimens of gold, silver, lead, and 
mica. 

A box of tempting wedding cake is suggestive of 
a pleasant family gathering, with music and flowers 
and happy faces, and the disappointment of an absent 
one in not receiving some token of remembrance. 

How irresistible is the desire to penetrate the mys- 
tery surrounding some of the articles ! 

One locket, about two or two and one-half inches 
square, containing miniatures of a lady and gentle- 
man — from the style of dress and color of the gold 
in the setting must be at least a hundred years old — 
has been in the o^z^ forty years ! What a precious 
heirloom it might be in some family to-day if the 
rightful owner could be found! ^ 

Another small oval locket, with the same style of 
setting, contains a very poor photograph of a young 
man in uniform. It was received in the Dead-Letter 
Office about the close of the war, and is supposed to 
have been found by some soldier upon a battle-field. 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 



163 



or in a deserted house in the South, who removed 
the miniature, substituted his own picture, and sent 
it home to his mother or sweetheart. The back 
bears the inscription, "Mary Carter — Lucy Ran- 
dolph — died 1783, aged 64." 

There is a curious piece of German writing upon 
a large square of silk or linen cloth. It was given to 
a young man in the old country ninety-nine years 
ago as a certificate of good character and ability at 
the close of his apprenticeship to the grocery busi- 
ness! 

Coins of all kinds, many of them very old and 
very rare, pass through the mails, and the collection 
in the museum is exceedingly interesting. 

The Superintendent of the office has collected into 
an album a number of envelopes representing some 
of the curious, amusing, and erroneous addresses 
constantly received. 

One bears the inscription : •* if dose man don't kal 
for dose latter in ten daes, sand the bak too Miss 



Another was addressed: ''the postmaster will 
please send this to my son who drives a yoke of red 
oxen, and the railroad runs through his place." 



164 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

A third, the writer aspiring to be considered a 
wit, has the address in rhyme: — 

** Hallo ! Uncle Sam, let me go in your mail, 
As I 've taken a notion to ride on a rail 
To Illinois State, and there let me stop, 
And in McLean County just please let me drop 
In Le Roy post-office, there let me lay 
Until Reason R. G takes me away." 

Postmaster's reply: — 

" Played out, my dear boy, 

There is no use in talking; 
If you can't pay your way 
You '11 have to try walking." 

A similar address to the above is : — 

" Now haste with this letter, as fast as you can, 
I 've just piid your fare to good Uncle Sam. 
The case is quite urgent, so don't stop to think; 
Don't tarry for lunches, or even a drink. 
Lyman Street you will very soon find, 
"Where the people are honest, good-natured, and kind. 

Frank T , the man to whom you must go, 

Is at 46 Lyman Street, Cleveland, Hio. 

It is surprising how expert the clerks become in 
detecting the errors and in discovering the meaning 
of many of the ambiguous addresses: A letter ad- 
dressed to " Mr. Charles Gray, Bered Station, Cleve- 
land, Chicargo, United States America," was delivered 
at Berea, Cuyahoga, County, Ohio. One addressed 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 



165 



to "Mr. William Hawkins, Buthemby, Penna.," was 
delivered at Perth Amboy, N. J. One to " Miss 
Mary Miller, No. 122 Virginia Street, Island," was 
delivered at Wheeling, W. Va. One to " John riley, 
fairfeld, highway," was delivered at Fairfield, Iowa. 

There are one hundred clerks employed in the 
Dead-Letter Office, of which number seventy-five are 
ladies. The latter are found to be peculiarly well 
fitted for this kind of work. They are more perse- 
vering and more painstaking than the male clerks. 
They will follow up the slightest clue as long as 
there is a ray of hope of success, and their womanly 
intuition is invaluable in determining what names 
and places are sometimes really meant. 

The lady in charge of the foreign letters is a Ger- 
man and a highly accomplished linguist. The ladies 
engaged in registering photographs, drafts, etc., are 
located in bright, attractive rooms, handsomely fur- 
nished, and the floors covered with neat carpets of 
crimson and gray. 

The Money- Order Division is also quite interest- 
ing, and becoming one of the most important 
branches of the Postal Service. 

The number of offices conducting domestic opera- 



1 66 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

tions for 1882 was 5491. The orders issued by the 
same aggregated in value ^113,400,118.21. The 
orders paid and repaid aggregated $113,388,301.90. 
The fees received from the pubhc amounted to 
;^i,o53,7io.55. 

The history of the system, from its inception in 
England forty-four years ago down to the present 
time, is remarkable. Previous to the year 1838 the 
business had been conducted as a private enterprise 
by three clerks in the post-office of London. Dur- 
ing that year it became an official department under 
the Postmaster-General. 

In 1840 the charge was fixed at yi. for sums not 
exceeding £2, and 6d. for over £2 and not exceed- 
ing ^5- 

The present rates in England for inland money 
orders range from \d. on sums under \os. to 15. for 
j^i^O, which is the maximum amount for which an 
order will be issued. 

The Postal Money Order System was established 
in this country November I, 1864, and the bureau 
commenced with six clerks. 

-Orders are issued for any sum not exceeding $^o\ 
larger sums may be transferred by two or more or- 
ders, but postmasters are instructed not to issue more 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 167 

than three in any one day to the same person. Se- 
curity is obtained by omitting from the order the 
name of the payee. 

In 1865, 74,277 money orders were issued; in 1882 
there were 8,798,312. The clerical force has in- 
creased from six to one hundred and forty clerks, 
and the business is now so extensive that it has been 
necessary to pi'Ovide a building outside of the De- 
partment for its accommodation. 

The work of assorting, counting, and checking the 
orders which pour in from all parts of the country 
and from foreign countries is very laborious, and re- 
quires the greatest accuracy. The domestic orders 
are sorted, first by States, then towns, and afterwards 
arranged in numerical sequence. The postmasters 
are required to send a weekly statement of money 
transactions to the Department, and these are care- 
fully checked off with the orders returned, and the 
statements if correct pasted in books made to receive 
them, and then filed away for future reference. The 
files are increasing at a very rapid rate, and it will 
soon be a serious question what to do with them. 

The Post-Office building is of marble in the Cor- 
inthian style of architecture, and occupies" the entire 



1 68 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

square between Seventh and Eighth, ** E" and " F" 
streets. 

In the centre is a court nearly two hundred feet 
in length. A carriage-way opens into the court for 
the convenience of receiving and despatching mails. 
The cost of the structure was ;^ 1,700,000. 



XIX. 



U. S. TREASURY. 



'T^HE Secretary of the Treasury is an important 
-■- officer of the Government, and upon him de- 
pends in a great measure the successful working ot 
the machinery which Congress sets in motion. He 
is obliged to look after the lubricating oil, see that 
a proper supply is manufactured, that none is wasted 
or stolen, that it is properly applied where needed, 
and in times of great stress, when the supply be- 
comes low, provide a way for procuring it elsewhere. 
All this requires a master mind and the aid of 
many assistants, and as the country continues to 
grow the business of the Treasury Department in- 
creases in proportion. 

The contrast between the working force of fifty 

years ago and that of the present is quite as great as 

the contrast between the old building of that time 

and the immense structure of to-day. The north, 

12 



I/O 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



south, and west wings had not then been built nor 
were they fully completed until the year 1863. The 
building now occupies a whole square, with two 
court-yards and a centre wing fifty-seven feet wide. 
It is of granite and has four fronts. The east front 
has a colonnade after the style of the Minerva PallaS 
at Athens, three hundred feet long with thirty large 
Ionic columns. The west has a central portico sup- 
ported by eight monolithic pillars. The north and 
south fronts are similar. 

The interior is finished in a very substantial man- 
ner, and in some parts elaborately decorated. 

Fifty years ago the bureaus of the Department 
were only twelve in number, viz : the office of the 
Secretary, offices of First and Second Comptroller, 
Treasurer, Register, Solicitor, and of the six Audit- 
ors. Besides the Secretary, the employes of the 
Secretary's office were only sixteen clerks, with a 
chief clerk and one messenger. Now the business 
has increased so much it has been found necessary 
to divide it into nine divisions ; each division with a 
chief and one assistant chief, and the employes alto- 
gether numbering several hundred. The Secretary 
is also assisted by two assistant secretaries ; the duty 



U. S. TREASURY. lyi 

of signing official letters alone being too much for 
one person's attention. 

Besides these nine regular divisions there are 
several other offices, the business of which is closely 
connected with the Secretary's office. These are the 
Mint Bureau, Life-saving Service, Lighthouse Board, 
offices of the Commissioner of Customs, Comptroller 
of the Currency, Supervising Surgeon-General, Su- 
pervising Architect, Commissioner of Internal Reve- 
nue, Bureau of Statistics, and the Bureau of Engrav- 
ing and Printing. 

The Treasurer's office, fifty years ago, had about 
nine clerks, with a chief clerk and one messenger. 
It is only necessary to take a walk through the 
rooms occupied by that office now, and see the busy 
hands and heads at work, and the vast sums of 
money passing through the several processes of be- 
ing counted, issued, destroyed, and reissued ; to be 
convinced of the extraordinary growth of the office. 

The Treasurer is assisted by an assistant treasurer, 
a cashier, an assistant cashier, and fully 250 em- 
ployes, including chiefs of divisions, clerks, messen- 
gers, and laborers. The amount of work devolving 
upon this office is simply immense, and there is no 
chance for any drones in the hive. 



1/2 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



The Auditor's offices have all largely increased, 
but more particularly those of the Second and Sixth 
Auditor. The late war increased the work of the 
Second Auditor's office very much, and business has 
accumulated so rapidly, although employing a large 
force, that they are still several years behind. 

Fifty years ago it was considered quite an honor 
to be a government clerk, and many rose from such 
positions to fill places of great responsibility. Things 
have changed somewhat in this respect, and if a man 
takes a place in a government office nowadays, it is 
generally understood that outside openings have 
failed him, and he makes a virtue of necessity. 

Women were not employed as clerks until after 
the year 1 860, and the exigencies of the war period 
first opened the way. Twenty years of official life 
has proved their fitness for certain kinds of work, 
and at present there are several hundred women dis- 
tributed through the various bureaus, engaged in 
copying, counting, and in some instances as ac- 
countants. For counting fractional currency and 
assorting coupons they are invaluable, for the male 
clerks usually consider this work as rather too tri- 
fling for their time and brains ; and then, too, the 
women never steal anything. I have heard some 



U. S. TREASURY. 



173 



of the officers say they would rather have them 
for this reason. They are generally too timid to try 
it ; or, if tempted, take such small sums there is no 
trouble about making it right again. None of them 
have ventured upon ;^47,000 at once, as a male clerk 
did a few years ago. 

Some of the female clerks become very expert in 
detecting counterfeits, and can single out a false note 
instantly from a large pile of genuine notes. They 
are also very useful in assorting, mending, and re- 
storing mutilated notes returned for redemption. No 
one, unless he has made a personal examination of 
the money returned to the Department for this pur- 
pose, can form any idea of its condition. Some has 
been partially burned, some ground into pulp by 
passing through the wash-tub in pockets of panta- 
loons and other garments ; some has been gnawed 
by rats and mice, and some so soiled and greasy 
one shrinks from touching it. It is a rule of the 
Department to redeem every note that can by any 
possible means be identified, and there is consider- 
able ciphering to be done on some. 

The Cash room is about the only really handsome 
room in the building. The walls are entirely of 
marble, several varieties being used in the construe- 



174 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

tion. A balcony, guarded by a handsome bronze 
balustrade, separates the upper and lower story. 
The panels of the lower are of Sienna marble with 
borders of variegated Tennessee marble, pilasters 
and beads of white-veined native marble. Those of 
the upper story of Sarrangolum marble from the Py- 
renees, with pilasters of white-veined Italian marble. 

The hall near the Secretary's private office is lined 
with portraits of the former Secretaries who have 
departed this life ; it being contrary' to law to hang 
the picture of any one living there. These portraits 
form an interesting study, from the handsome face 
of Alexander Hamilton, the first and probably the 
ablest Secretary, down to S. P. Chase, the great war 
Secretary. 

The office of the Chief of the Secret Service 
Division, located on the third floor, contains many 
interesting things, collected from year to year by 
the agents of the Government employed in detecting 
and breaking up counterfeiting. 

There are several large albums filled with photo- 
graphs of persons engaged in the business, and one 
is astonished to find so many of them of respectable 
appearance and apparently far above such contempt- 
ible employment. In the majority of them, though, 



U. S. TREASURY. lyt^ 

" criminal" is stamped upon the face. There are a 
number of women among them, and it sometimes 
happens a whole family is engaged in making and 
passing spurious money. The men make and the 
women pass it. The history of one woman, whose 
picture is in the album, is remarkable. She has 
served a term in prison, her first husband died in 
prison, her father was a criminal, her son-in-law is 
serving fifteen years in prison, and her present hus- 
band is now in the penitentiary. 

There are some curious specimens of altered notes 
in the collection; one, a twenty-dollar note, so artist- 
ically executed with pen and ink few persons except 
experts can detect the difference between the coun- 
terfeit and the genuine. It is the work of a consum- 
mate artist, and first passed at New Orleans. There 
is also an unfinished ten -dollar note, captured in 
Buffalo in 1874, the work of the notorious Ballard 
family. One member of that family offered to show 
the Government a process of making money which 
it would be impossible to counterfeit, and was willing 
to remain in jail while being tested, even if it required 
years; but the Government declined, as it could have 
no dealings with criminals. 

Many artifices are resorted to for concealing the 



176 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

false money. One of the most common is the cane 
device, and there are some curious specimens in the 
office captured at various times from counterfeiters. 

Those persons who claim it is impossible to Amer- 
icanize John Chinaman will be obliged to change 
their opinion after a look into the Rogue's Gallery. 
They are not only expert counterfeiters but the most 
adroit passers of the spurious money. 

There is a picture of Governor Allen, of Ohio, 
hanging in the office, engraved by a counterfeiter 
while serving a term of years in the penitentiary at 
Columbus, Ohio. 

Besides specimens of spurious money, the Depart- 
ment has a large album filled with specimens of all 
the notes and bonds issued by the Southern Con- 
federacy. 

Upon descending from the Secret Service office 
to the basement, one finds a neat, bright little room, 
where he can learn more about money, but it is gen- 
uine money, and being destroyed in such large quan- 
tities, would break the heart of a counterfeiter if he 
were present. 

Before making a new issue of notes to a national 
bank, all of the former issue are destroyed, and great 
care is taken in counting and canceUing them. After 



U. S. TREASURY. 



177 



they are properly cancelled, a committee of gen- 
tlemen see them taken to the macerating room, and 
there witness the process of unlocking the macerator, 
depositing the notes, and relocking the machine, to 
which each has a different key. The committee 
represent the Secretary of the Treasury, the Treas- 
urer, and Comptroller of the Currency, and the cere- 
mony is gone through with in order to prevent fraud 
or any suspicion of dishonesty in either office. Cold 
water is turned in upon the notes by means of a pipe 
and the mass is left to soften for several hours. The 
engine is then started, which works a double row of 
very keen knives, so sharp and closely set that a 
sheet of paper might be split in passing, and in 
about an hour the notes are reduced to pulp. The 
pulp is then drawn off, but in order to make sure 
that no large pieces have escaped, it is passed 
through a double wire basket, and the large pieces, 
if there are any, are again returned to the macera- 
tor for further manipulation. It is now placed in 
large tanks and allowed to drain, and then taken to 
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and used in 
manufacturing coarse wrapping paper. These notes, 
as before mentioned, are from the national banks, 
and the money not always old and imperfect. When 



1/8 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

a bank stops business, to enable it to recover the 
bonds deposited with the Treasurer, it must bring 
enough currency to cover the amount, and some- 
times the money is perfectly new. The whole 
process occupies but a few hours, and is a great 
improvement upon the old method of burning, which 
was not only extremely offensive to those engaged 
but positively dangerous. With all the precautions 
used it was irrfpossible to prevent large pieces of 
notes escaping, and during the process a fine yel- 
low dust formed which penetrated to every crevice, 
and was ruinous to papers, books, and furniture. 
The present system is clean, effective, and interest- 
ing. From one to three millions of dollars are de- 
stroyed every week. 

The business of many of the other offices is quite 
interesting, but more particularly that of the Light- 
House Board and Life-Saving Service. The latter 
office has not only a number of models of the appa- 
ratus, guns, suits, etc., used in the perilous business 
of saving shipwrecked men, but also numerous re- 
ports from crews actively engaged, which for thrill- 
ing interest can hardly be equalled. 

Every one admires courage upon the battle-field, 



U. S. TREASURY. j^q 

and are ready to make heroes of those who in the 
midst of the smoke and excitement of battle perform 
some extraordinary deed of valor; but it seems to 
me the exploits of these surfmen are far more daring 
than those of the average soldier. It is a noble thing 
to save a human life, and the distinction increases 
in proportion to the risk and suffering incurred 
therefor. 

Few persons realize, although they may have full 
knowledge of the facts, what these brave men really 
endure. It is a serious matter to be taken from a 
warm, comfortable bed at midnight to go out into 
the darkness and storm along a lonely, dangerous 
beach, to patrol for stranded and helpless vessels. 
For eight months of the year these patrols keep 
watch upon the ocean beaches from sunset to dawn, 
relieving each other at stated intervals, and march 
and countermarch to and fro, with eyes straining the 
offing for ships in peril. The way is long, dreary, 
and perilous. Often the surf shoots seething across 
the path, or the sentinel wades knee-deep, and even 
hip-deep across ii^lets which traverse the beach into 
the bays beyond. In the midst of cutting sleet, 
blinding flights of sand and spray, or the roaring 
hurricane, on he goes. There is a case on record of 



l8o NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

one man dying while making one of these heroic 
marches. But, it is when intent upon reaching a 
shipwrecked vessel that these men show the extra- 
ordinary courage and endurance which make heroes 
of them. Their efforts are almost superhuman, and 
more than one brave fellow has gone down in en- 
deavoring to save the life of a fellow man. I am 
very sure no one could read the account of the 
wreck of the schooner "J. H. Hartzell," which oc- 
curred near Frankfort, Lake Michigan, on the i6th 
of October, 1880; or the disaster at Point aux 
Barques ; or the wreck of the schooner " George 
Taulane," without having a higher appreciation of 
the Life-Saving Service than he ever had before. 

The Treasury Department may be likened to an 
immense bee-hive. The hive itself cannot well be 
enlarged, for it already covers the entire square and 
stands five stories high, but the workers increase so 
rapidly it is necessary every few years to send out a 
swarm to establish itself elsewhere. One swarm 
moved out not long ago and took possession of a 
handsome new brick building near the i;iver side, 
which was built expressly for, and much better 
adapted to the work of the Bureau of Engraving 
and Printing than the old quarters on the upper 



U. S. TREASURY, l8l 

floor of the Treasury building. Here are made all 
the bank notes, bonds, stamps, etc., of the Govern- 
ment, and in large, jealously-guarded vaults are kept 
the steel-plates, dies, and other apparatus used in 
making them. 



XX. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



A LTHOUGH at this date (1883) the collection 
-^ ■^ and arrangement of exhibits in the new Na- 
tional Museum are far from being complete, yet 
enough has been done to give one a very good idea 
of the general plan of the institution, and to show 
how interesting and valuable the collection must 
eventually become. 

It will probably require several years to perfect 
the arrangement, but when completed there will be 
an innumerable series of object lessons, touching 
upon everything relating to man and to the globe he 
inhabits. The Museum will really be a vast kinder- 
garten, where the smallest child and most ignorant 
nian can understand and learn something from the 
lesson set before him. It will also be a field of incal- 
culable value for the student and curious to glean 
from; and the tourist, who from choice or necessity, 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 83 

confines his travels to our own land, will there be 
able to learn all he cares to about other people and 
other lands. 

The idea of the new Museum is said to have 
originated with Hon. Spencer F. Baird, the present 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and sug- 
gested by the Centennial Exhibition. The nucleus 
for the collection were the exhibits of many foreign 
countries, prepared expressly for the Exhibition, and 
at its close presented to the United States. Con- 
gress appropriated ;g250,ooo for a building for the 
proper display of them, and they are being added to 
constantly. 

The building is of brick laid in black mortar, with 
ornamental lines near the cornice of buff and blue 
brick. The trimmings are of granite. It covers 2.35 
acres, or 102,200 square feet, and is of peculiar form. 
There is a central rotunda, octagonal in shape, with 
a dome, and four naves radiating from it, forming a 
Greek cross. There are four symmetrical exterior 
walls, and wide halls in the exterior angles of the 
cross, the whole forming a building nearly square. 
The roof, or roofs — for there are a series of them — 
are of iron. The main floors are covered with tile 
in fancy designs. The building is well lighted by 



1 84 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

numerous windows, in many of which are beautiful 
pictures photographed upon the glass, representing 
Indians, and scenes in the western Territories. In 
the rotunda is a deep basin with a fountain, con- 
stantly playing. 

The heating, water, and gas pipes are conducted 
through subterranean ducts, and there is a perfect 
network of telegraph and telephone wires. There 
are no less than twenty-six telephones in the build- 
ing, and electricity is made to do duty in many 
ways — lighting, moving clocks, burglar-alarms, call- 
bells, etc. 

There are four grand divisions of subjects : The 
northeast corner of the building being devoted to 
American Ethnology, the northwest to the Indus- 
trial Arts, the southwest corner to Mineralogy and 
Economic Geology, and the southeast to Economic 
Natural History. 

The department of minerals and building stones 
is particularly interesting, and those persons who 
have not given much attention to the subject are 
surprised to find such a variety of the latter and so 
much beauty in them. The specimens of marble 
are not confined to American marbles, but they seem 
to predominate, and one can scarcely decide which 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 85 

to admire the most — the pure white and the dove- 
colored marble from Vermont, the red, variegated 
from Tennessee, or the green-mottled from New 
York. Plain, perfectly black marble is somewhat 
rare, and I do not know if any has ever been found 
in this country. There is a beautiful specimen in 
the collection from New South Wales. The speci- 
mens of fossiliferous marbles in various stages of 
formation are exceedingly interesting, and in one of 
them — a dark-gray block from Lake Champlain — 
the veins take the exact form of a lobster, or some 
shell-fish very similar to it. 

A specimen of semi-opaque marble from Virginia 
is interesting on account of its similarity to a slab 
taken from the lost quarry of Egypt. They are so 
much alike one would suppose they came from the 
same place. This Egyptian quarry was lost for over 
one hundred years, and rediscovered by a French- 
man in 1849. 

American Ethnology has been an interesting study 
to our wise men for many years, and all new discov- 
eries relating to, or throwing any light upon, the 
subject are received with delight. The various ex- 
ploring expeditions sent out by the Government of 
late years have been very fortunate in their discover- 
13 



iSb NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ies of pottery and other Indian relics, and their con- 
tributions to the Museum are extensive and valuable. 

The ancient Indian is thought to have been a 
better artist than the modern, for the latter has been 
brought so near civilization, or rather civilization 
has advanced so close to him, it would be useless 
for him to expend much time and skill upon a frail 
earthen vessel, when for a few skins or a trifle he 
could purchase an iron or tin one far more service- 
able. 

The pottery now being arranged in the Museum 
has been found chiefly among the Pueblo Indians 
inhabiting Arizona and New Mexico. 

The Moquis and Zunis are the most important of 
these tribes, and are semi-civilized Indians. They 
are supposed to be the tribes visited in 1540 by 
Coronado, who left many of the domestic animals 
among them. This is inferred from the fact of their 
useful vessels being ornamented with, or made in 
the form of fowls and animals unknown to the wild 
Indian. If they had never seen a pig how could they 
mould a water-jar in the exact form of one, and a 
spotted pig at that, with a curled tail? 

In the collection there is a large bo\vl decorated 



• NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 8/ 

with the familiar form of a donkey (and the only 
specimen, as far as discovered, bearing this device). 

Many of their water-jars are in the form of a duck, 
and, while the owl seems to have been the favorite 
design, chanticleer has not been neglected. 

Some of their pitchers are of such symmetry and 
beauty a modern artist could not improve them. 

There are tea-pots — or rather water-jars, for " the 
cups that cheer but not inebriate," were probably 
unknown to them — of the same shape and size of 
the Japanese tea-pots exposed for sale in any mod- 
ern crockery store. 

Some of the baskets are of graceful form, with 
curved handles and scalloped edges, and painted 
with beetles and flowers. Mrs. Stevenson, in her 
paper on " Zuni and the Zunians," says they are sa- 
cred baskets and intended to contain the meal used 
in their religious ceremonies. 

Bowls, cups, canteens, toys, and dolls are orna- 
mented in various ways. These articles are all un- 
glazed, as Indian pottery is usually. Some of the 
vessels are perfectly black and highly polished. It 
is said, by those familiar with the subject, that this 
color is due to the burning and not to any coloring 
matter in the clay. The large water-jars of this black 



X88 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

ware, with bulging sides and fluted necks, are really 
quite handsome. 

The corrugated pottery is very curious and re- 
quires great care and skill in making. The clay is 
laid on in thread-like layers until the vessel assumes 
the shape desired. It is then smoothed and assimi- 
lated from the inside, leaving the rough edges intact 
upon the outside. 

It has been held that the Indian is utterly devoid 
of humor. This may be true, or he may have it, and 
with his peculiar notions consider it unmanly to in- 
dulge in frivolity. I think, though, it is impossible 
for any one to look upon the grotesque form given 
to many of their useful and ornamental vessels with- 
out being impressed with the idea that there was 
considerable humor around, and when the deft fin- 
gers moulded the clay a smile must have wreathed 
the lips, which, like the loud guffaw of Artemus Ward 
while writing his humerous stories, was indicative of 
the spirit of fun within. 

The dolls of the Moqui Indians are ridiculously 
grotesque. The faces are as stoical as all Indian 
faces, the stomachs very fat, and the hands, with 
digits extended, invariably represented as pressing 
upon them. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 89 

The collection of musical instruments of different 
times and nations is both curious and instructive, 
and shows very strikingly how universal the love of 
music — or what is intended for music. 

Standing beside the modern cabinet organ with 
polished rosewood case, ivory keys, and perfect tone, 
one is inclined to pity or feel contempt for the peo- 
ple who can be satisfied with the uncouth ranat — - 
exhibited in a case a few feet distant — and yet I 
have no doubt the Siamese think the music quite 
as sweet as the full rich tones of the organ are to us. 
The ranat resembles an infant's walnut coffin about 
as much as anything else, and has twenty-two strips 
of bamboo strung across the top. The music (?) is 
produced by tapping the bits of bamboo with two 
sticks. 

Drums are shown in every variety and style, from 
that made of a hollowed log, used by the savage, to 
the perfect instrument used by a well-trained band. 
Guitars are shown in the same way, from the rude 
wooden affair covered with snake skin, to the pretty 
inlaid rosewood case and patent keys now in vogue. 

The department devoted to the Industrial Arts is 
probably more pleasing than the others to a major- 



I90 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



ity of visitors, for the reason every one can under- 
stand at a glance what is intended to be shown by 
each exhibit. 

Scientific subjects require a certain amount of 
education to be fully appreciated, and even then, 
unless one is "well posted," rather dry and tiresome. 
This department treats entirely of commonplace 
subjects familiar to all. A number of useful articles 
are exhibited, and the process of manufacture traced 
from the raw material to the finished article. For 
example : hempen rope is shown from the dried 
plant with a few fibres separated, the same prepared 
for twisting, to the perfect article — from the delicate 
cord to the thick cable strong enough to secure a 
ship to her moorings. 

Silk is followed from the cocoon to the handsome 
brocade of brilliant hue and perfect finish. Gloves 
are traced in the same way. First is shown the skin 
in its original state, the same prepared and finished 
for cutting, a glove partially cut from the whole 
skin, one partly sewed, and finally the dainty affair 
of fifteen buttons, all ready to grate the fair hand of 
beauty. 

Manufactures of fine horn are also shown. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. I9I 

Those who have been accustomed to think the 
Japanese only half civiHzed are usually surprised 
when they come to look upon the wonderful inge- 
nuity, taste, and skill displayed in their various pro- 
ductions and works of art. By reason of the very 
friendly feeling existing between that nation and the 
United States, the latter has been the recipient of 
many beautiful and costly articles, which are all de- 
posited in the Museum and are alone worth a trip 
to the Capital to see. 

The Capron collection is valued at ;^ 15,000, and 
probably nothing like it in America. 

General Horace Capron was formerly Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture, and in 1871 resigned that 
position to accept an appointment by the Japanese 
Government. He resided in Japan for five years, 
and rendered valuable service in settling and devel- 
oping the island of Yesso — introducing new methods 
of farming, making surveys, introducing foreign 
grains, fruits, etc., and when he returned to Wash- 
ington was laden with rich presents by the Empe- 
ror, many of them from his own private collection. 

General Capron also improved his opportunity for 
purchasing rare and beautiful things, and together 
they form an exceedingly interesting collection. 



192 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

There are seventeen pieces of fine gold lacquer 
from the Tycoon's private property, among them 
two beautiful cabinets, a large robe-case, a magnifi- 
cent tray, at least three feet in length, decorated with 
open fans in rich gilt; a helmet case, chow-chow 
boxes, a sword stand, and an octagon stand for 
a bronze statue. 

There are a number of large, beautiful screens, 
with paintings on silk illustrating the regulation 
dresses of the nobles under the old regime; also 
several with interesting street scenes, and others 
illustrating the holiday sports of old Japan. 

The porcelains are very rare and beautiful. One 
pair of Satsuma vases, elephant trunk pattern, were 
made in the sixteenth century. Another pair of the 
same ware are very choice and of extraordinary 
decoration. The Cloisonne vases are the most valu- 
able, and one rather small pair are of exquisite work- 
manship. The most striking thing in the collection 
is called a Silvereen, and was presented by the Ty- 
coon to General Capron, and said to be one of the 
finest specimens of artistic workmanship ever sent 
out of Japan. There is first a pedestal or small 
table of graceful design, and of fine gold lacquer, 
the decorations and finish being very elaborate. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 93 

Upon this table rests a silver basket, from which 
ascend two branches of the Japanese plum tree, 
meeting overhead and forming an arch. The blos- 
soms of the tree, and also of a flower entwined 
about it, are of silver, and in the branches a pair of 
nightingales, also wrought in silver. The combina- 
tion is symbolical of friendship and esteem. 

There is a smaller ornament of the same style. 
The pedestal is not so large nor so elaborate as 
the above, and instead of the silver basket a finely 
carved bronze represents a rock, and around the 
sharp points is entwined a trailing flower. A pair of 
birds wrought in silver are grouped upon it. These 
represent the national bird of Japan, and the beauti- 
ful plumage is exquisitely finished. 

There are several pieces of wood-carving, and two 
specimens claimed to be over two hundred years old. 

There are a number of fine bronzes, some of them 
very unique in design, and of great value. 

The Museum also contains a number of showy 
Japanese robes and other interesting articles pre- 
sented at the close of the Centennial Exhibition. 

I think a case of wooden panels, showing the 
useful and ornamental trees of Japan, are about as 
ingenious and curious as anything they have sent 



194 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



US. The panels are of wood taken from the heart of 
the tree, smoothly planed and inserted in narrow 
frames made of the bark. At each corner of the 
frame is fastened a circular piece showing the grain 
of the wood. Upon the face of the panel is painted 
the leaf, blossom, and seed-vessel of the tree, thus 
showing at a glance the whole character of each tree 
treated. 

The new Museum is not intended to supersede nor 
to interfere with the Smithsonian Institution. It is 
merely an annex of the latter, and the visitor or stu- 
dent will find, if he fails to visit both, he has lost 
much pleasure and valuable information. 



XXI. 

PATENT OFFICE. 

nr^HE Patent Office is decidedly the most pleas- 
^ ing — as far as the exterior is concerned — of 
the pubHc buildings in Washington. Its vast propor- 
tions, classic style and substantial finish, never fail 
to command attention and appear equally well, whe- 
ther viewed under the strong, bright light of the 
morning sun, or seen at night under the softer, paler 
light of the moon. 

It occupies two squares, extending from Seventh 
to Ninth streets on one side, and from ''F" to "G" 
streets on the other; is 453 feet long, 331 feet wide, 
and 75 feet high, and, up to the date of the last fire, 
including furniture, etc., cost ;^3,ooo,ooo. Repairing 
the damage done by that fire cost a quarter of a mil- 
lion more. This expenditure has been to a large 
extent out of the patent fund. 

The building, constructed principally of marble, is 



196 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

of the Doric style of architecture, and without orna- 
mentation of any kind. 

The east entrance is gained by a high flight of 
massive granite steps through a large projecting 
portico, supported by six immense fluted columns. 
The west side is finished with the same style of por- 
tico but lacks the high steps; the entrance being in 
the basement. 

The main entrance upon "F" Street is remarkably 
grand and imposing. The portico is supported by 
sixteen large fluted columns, arranged in a double 
row and resting upon a massive substruction of ma- 
sonry. This portico is modelled after the Parthenon 
at Athens and is of the same dimensions; from it a 
door opens into a roomy hall, with an arched ceiling 
resting upon large Doric columns. The floors of the 
corridors, which extend around the entire building, 
are beautifully paved in white marble. 

The second floor is devoted to models, and has 
been constructed with a view to the proper exhibi- 
tion of them. 

Thousands and thousands of models are here gath- 
ered into glass cases, representing every useful and 
ornamental contrivance that the fertile mind of man 
can conceive. Some of tjiem are apparently so sim- 



PATENT OFFICE. 



197 



pie and of so little consequence, one wonders why 
the inventor ever took the trouble to carry them to 
Washington. 

Americans are peculiarly an inventive people, and 
as a people have reason to be proud of the system, 
which has been so successful in encouraging and 
protecting the genius for which they are distin- 
guished. Foreign countries have not been slow in 
discovering the good points of the system, and are 
ready to avail themselves of the benefit of them in 
remodelling their own. Although the rules govern- 
ing the issue of patents are much more strict in this 
country than in any other, yet America leads the 
world in the number issued. From an official gaz- 
ette I learn that an approximation to the whole 
number of patents ever issued for mechanical inven- 
tions in civilized countries would give to the United 
States 200,000, Great Britain 100,000, France, 
60,000, all other countries together 12,000. 

Thomas Jefferson is said to have been the father 
of the first American patent system, which was 
founded under the Act of April lO, 1790. He took 
great pride in it, and gave personal consideration to 
every application made during the years between 
1790 and 1793. It is related that the granting of a 



198 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

patent was held to be in these early times quite an 
event in the history of the State Department, where 
the clerical part of the work was performed. That 
when an application for one was made under the 
first Act Mr. Jefferson would summon Mr. Henry 
Knox, of Massachusetts, who was Secretary of War, 
and Mr. Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, who was 
Attorney-General, these officials being designated 
by the Act with the Secretary of State a tribunal to 
examine and grant patents ; and that these distin- 
guished officials would examine the applications 
critically, scrutinizing each point of the specification 
and claims carefully and rigorously. The result of 
this examination was that during the first year a 
majority of the applications failed to pass the ordeal, 
and only three patents were granted. The world 
moves ! For Cabinet officers' now to meet in solemn 
conclave to examine and pass upon applications for 
patents, would be considered something very re- 
markable and rather beneath their dignity. 

In these early days every step in the matter was 
taken with the greatest care and caution, Mr. Jeffer- 
son seeking always to impress upon the minds of 
his officers and the public that the granting of a 
patent was a matter of no ordinary importance. In 



PA 7 ENT OFFICE. 1 99 

this, as in many other things, as the years roll on, 
does the wisdom, sagacity, and strong character of 
Mr. Jefferson loom up in broader, grander propor- 
tions. One cannot open a page of the his.toiy of 
the beginning of this nation without finding a trace 
of his hand upon it. He may, like many others, 
have had his eccentricities and weaknesses, but as a 
planner and leader was invaluable. 

The history of the Patent Office shows that from 
1790 to 181 2 inventions were confined to agricultu- 
ral and commercial objects. Implements for tilling 
the soil and machinery for navigation attracted most 
attention. The arts were poorly understood and 
little cultivated. The war of 18 12, however, forced 
our people to attempt production in branches of 
industry heretofore almost wholly uncultivated, and 
the result was the most remarkable development of 
human ingenuity ever known in any age or country. 

As- is well known, the models and records of the 
office were entirely destroyed by the burning, in 
1836, of the Post-Office building, where deposited. 
Everything perished, with the exception of one book 
from the library of little -value to any one. 

Among the many valuable things destroyed was 
a volume of drawings executed by Fulton, deline- 



26o NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

% 
ating the various parts of the machinery he em- 
ployed in his httle steamboat, and embracing three 
representations of it making its first triumphant 
struggle against the opposing current of the Hudson. 
The steamer was represented passing through the 
Highlands, and at two or three other interesting 
points on the river, with a beautiful sketch of the 
surrounding scenery smiling as it were at the victory 
which science and art had at last achieved over the 
power of the winds and the waters. This loss is 
irreparable. 

The disastrous fire of September 24, 1877, was 
another great blow to the Patent Office business, and 
many valuable models were destroyed, but with the 
characteristic energy of Americans, the officials have 
succeeded in restoring the greater part c^ them ; 
and the building, such a sad wreck upon the morn- 
ing following that event, has been rebuilt, retouched, 
and refurnished, so that now scarcely a trace of the 
fire remains. 

In 1837, the year following the first fire, there 
were 435 patents issued. In the year 1877, the date 
of the last fire, there were 10,416 issued. These 
figures show very clearly the wonderful growth of 
the business. 



^ PATENT OFFICE. 20I 

The halls containing the models are visited daily 
by people of every class, and those with an inventive 
turn of mind learn a great deal from the models 
exhibited. New inventions are often the direct re- 
sult of an examination of some of them, in which 
another person, impelled by the same idea, has 
taken the first step, and so opened the way for final 
success. 

The Secretary of the Interior has a handsome 
office on the main floor. The Land Office and the 
Indian Bureau are also in the building. 



H 



XXII. 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

T T NCLE SAM has many big workshops in Wash- 
^^ ington, but the most gigantic one of all is found 
at the corner of *' H" and North Capitol streets, 
known as the Government Printing Office. 

The building — in the form of a rectangular quad- 
rangle with a court in the centre — is four stories 
high, and exclusive of the stables, boilers, coal-house, 
etc., covers more than 41,000 square feet, and has 
floor space equal to 4J acres. 

Just fancy 41 acres of machinery, type, paper, 
paste, ink, and oil, all being moved and manipulated 
for the transformation into books, papers, ledgers, 
official blanks, etc., by an army of active, intelligent 
employes, numbering 2200, more or less, and one 
can form some idea of this great workshop ! 

The machinery employed is all of the very best 
quality and most approved design, and the engine 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 203 

a perfect beauty. The employes, as a rule, are of a 
far higher grade of intelligence than those found in 
private establishments engaged in the same business. 

Everything moves on like clock-work, and in the 
whole length of the building it is impossible to find 
a single idle man. The office hours are from 8 
o'clock A. M. to I P. M., and from 2 to 5 P. M. 
Punctuality is required of every one, and a strict ac- 
count kept of all time lost. Five minutes after the 
whistle blows means one hour lost time. The regu- 
lar night force — for the office runs night and day 
when there is a press of work, and always when 
Congress is in session — go on duty at 10 P. M. and 
end at 7 A. M. 

The employes are paid usually according to the 
amount of work done (by the piece), but some re- 
ceive per diem wages, and some have stated monthly 
salaries.. There are twenty proof readers, eleven 
copy holders, and four revisers. Some of the proof 
readers are versed in eight different languages — an 
accomplishment necessary on account of the books 
printed. 

The proceedings of Congress, which were formerly 
published by contract with the old Globe Company, 
are now, as is well known, published in the daily 



204 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



Record at the Government Printing Office, and this 
work is probably the most difficult of all for the Pub- 
lic Printer. To have a fresh, crisp, correct copy of 
the report of the doings of Congress of the day pre- 
vious, ready to be laid on the desk of each member 
at the beginning of the morning session, is no small 
task, particularly when it is remembered how late 
the adjournment takes place some days, and how 
untranslatable are many of the writteu speeches. A 
wagon is kept running the entire night collecting 
copy, carrying messengers with proofs of speeches, 
etc. There are 6400 copies printed daily. 

Seventy - two persons are employed upon the 
Record during a session of Congress, and nearly 
every part of the work is performed at night. The 
men work in a large room 60 by 90 feet, lighted 
with electric lights and equipped with new material 
and a first-class outfit in every respect. Almost 
every issue of the Record contains as much matter 
as any two of the New York dailies. The work is 
often very much retarded by the retention of speeches 
for revision ; each member feels a little nervous 
about being correctly reported, and some awkward 
mistakes and strange mingling of politics might oc- 
cur if great care were not taken, so that it is often 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 20 5 

after midnight before the copy is in the hands of the 
printer. 

The amount of paper used in the estabhshment is 
wonderful. In the binding and printing office ware- 
houses there are used about one hundred and fifty 
different kinds and sizes. 

The report for a single quarter shows : — • 

Total ordered for quarter . . . 1,556,501 lbs. 
Add map and plate paper ordered . 20,000 *' 

Most of the ledger paper for the bindery comes 
from New England. The paper used for ordinary 
purposes is made in Pennsylvania. Over 3200 tons 
are used yearly. 

The disbursements of the office each year are 
nearly ^3,000,000. Pay days — always an interesting 
time to the employes — are now the 3d, 8th, and 13th 
working days of each month. It is no small matter 
to pay such an army, and the cashier is often very 
much bothered before he gets through. 

The money, which amounts to ^50,000 or ^60,000 
for each pay day, is counted out in the cash-room of 
the Treasury Department in gold, silver, and bank- 
notes, and given into the charge of the cashier, who 
locks the box carefully and places the key in his 



206 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

pocket. Four strong men then carry it out to the 
wagon of the Printing Office, and, with the cashier, 
jump in and are driven rapidly to their destination. 
The cashier never takes his eagle eye from the 
cash-box until it is safely landed in his office. The 
employes come in twenty-five at a time, in line just 
as their names appear on the pay-rolls. The name 
is called by a check clerk at the first window and 
the amount due. The cashier stands near a second 
window, counts out the money and passes it to his 
assistant, who checks the duplicate roll, sees that the 
amount is correct, and passes it over the counter to 
the employe, who is identified by the foreman or 
some assistant. 

The pay-rolls amount to over $5000 per day, or 
about $6^0 per hour. 

A large proportion of the employes are women, 
and they become very expert in doing certain kinds 
of work. On the third floor, where the folding is 
done, there are over 375. The pay for folding is 
two cents per hundred folds ; when work is plenty 
they can average $2^ per month. The woman in 
charge of the folding department goes around each 
day after the work is counted, verifies the count, and 
makes out a memorandum of the amount due. This 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 20/ 

slip is placed in a conspicuous place where all in- 
terested can see it, and remains one day for correc- 
tion. It is then again verified, and placed on the 
book. 

The office does all kinds of work for the executive 
departments. The millions of blank books used in 
Washington and all over the country for the various 
custom-houses, post-offices ; the reports ordered by 
the several departments and ordered by Congress ; 
Patent-Office reports, etc., are all printed there. 

The President's annual message to Congress is 
also printed at the office, and in order to keep it 
from the public press the work has to be done in the 
most secret manner; but in spite of all their care 
the quick-witted reporters are sometimes too sharp 
for them and get the leading points, and then sup- 
ply the deficiencies from their own fertile brains. 
The Public Printer was more successful with Presi- 
dent Arthur's last message to Congress, and not one 
person saw it except those engaged in the prepara- 
tion. After receiving the sheets from the President 
he went to his office, called his foreman of printing, 
chief clerk, and a few trusted employes, and each man 
took his "stick and rule" and "take," from the Pub- 
lic Printer down, and went to work. When the first 



208 



NOTES OK WASHINGTON. 



proof was submitted to the President he was much 
gratified to find that the work had not only been 
properly guarded, but that his Public Printer and all 
his staff were practical printers, and could take good 
care of all confidential work at any hour of the day 
or night. 



XXIII. 



WORKS OF ART. 



T N a city of large size with extensive public 
-■- grounds, one or two brass horses quietly stand- 
ing upon granite pedestals, or, if preferred, rearing 
in high-spirited style, are very desirable, and gene- 
rally considered quite an acquisition. But there is 
such a thing as overdoing the matter, and too many 
worse than not having any at all. This is the case 
in Washington. There is something irresistibly 
comical, yet at the same time quite depressing, in 
the brazen cavalcade constantly staring one in the 
face. From one point — the corner of Rhode Island 
Avenue and Sixteenth Street — there are three horse- 
men in sight and almost within a stone's throw of 
you, and these only one-half of the number the city 
now contains. Two of them — Jackson and Thomas 
— are bare-headed, the hat being held in the hand ; 
and when the winter's storm of snow and hail beats 



210 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

down mercilessly upon the bared brow, or the 
scorching rays of a midsummer sun threaten immi- 
nent sunstroke, the passer-by is often possessed with 
a desire to replace it, or to hold an umbrella over 
the exposed head. 

As works of art they are handsome and interest- 
ing, but entirely too numerous. One can form a 
very good idea of the display when they understand 
that six statues of the kind are crowded into the 
area of a triangle two and one-half miles in length, 
and about three-quarters wide. 

This fancy for equestrian statues seems to have 
developed at the very beginning of our existence as 
a nation, and long before the Capital was perma- 
nently located ; for the resolution to rear one in 
honor of Washington was passed as early as 1783. 
This was sixteen years before his death. The reso- 
lution was unanimous, ten States being present, and 
is interesting reading now, as it shows the high esti- 
mation in which he was held by his contemporaries, 
also how much ideas have changed respecting the 
style of these memorials of our distinguished men : 

August 7, 1783, it was resolved, ''That an eques- 
trian statue of General Washington be erected at 



WORKS OF ART. 211 

the place where the residence of Congress shall be 
established. 

" That the statue be of bronze ; the General to be 
represented in a Roman dress, holding a truncheon 
in his right hand, and his head encircled with a lau- 
rel wreath. The statue to be supported by a marble 
pedestal, on which are to be represented, in basso 
relievo, the following principal events of the war in 
which General Washington commanded in person, 
viz : the evacuation of Boston ; the capture of the 
Hessians at Trenton ; the battle of Princeton ; the 
action of Monmouth, and the surrender of York. 
On the upper part of the front of the pedestal to be 
engraved as follows : The United States in Congress 
assembled, ordered this statue to be erected in the 
year of our Lord 1783 in honor of George Wash- 
ington, the illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the 
armies of the United States of America during the 
war which vindicated and secured their liberty, sove- 
reignty, and independence. 

" That a statue conformable to the above plan be 
executed by the best artist in Europe, under the 
superintendence of the Minister of the United States 
at the Court of Versailles ; and that money to defray 



212 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

the expense of the same be furnished from the trea- 
sury of the United States. 

" That the Secretary of Congress transmit to the 
Minister of the United States at the Court of Ver- 
sailles the best resemblance of General Washington 
that can be procured, for the purpose of having the 
above statue erected ; together with the fittest de- 
scription of the events which are to be the subject 
of the basso reHevo." 

This statue was never erected ; whether opposed 
by the one intended to be honored, who, being a 
very modest, retiring man, did not care to see him- 
self figuring before the public in such dress, is not 
known, but no such statue exists in Washington. 

Nothing more seems to have been done in the mat- 
ter until 1832, and not then until North Carolina and 
Massachusetts had each erected statues of Washing- 
ton, and Congress decided it was high time for them 
to do something definite about one at the Capital, 
and in February, 1832, the House of Representatives 
adopted a resolution authorizing the President to 
employ Horatio Greenough, of Massachusetts, to ex- 
ecute in marble a full-length pedestrian statue of 
Washington to be placed in the centre of the Ro- 
tunda of the Capitol. The head was to be a copy 



WORKS OF ART. 



213 



of Houdon's Washington, and the accessories were 
to be left to the taste and judgment of the artist, 
and ;$5000 were appropriated for the purpose. 

This, as is well known, is the famous colossal 
statue now standing in the east park of the Capitol, 
and the subject of more comment and ridicule than 
any other work of art in the city. It has quite an in- 
teresting and remarkable history, and has been moved 
and removed, and for a time was very much like a 
great white elephant upon the hands of Congress. 

A brief description will interest those who have 
never seen the statue, and will enable them to better 
understand the point of the remarks upon the sub- 
ject made in the House of Representatives in 1842. 

The statue, without the pedestal, is ten feet high. 
The naked figure of Washington is represented sit- 
ting in a low chair, with one hand pointing heaven- 
ward and the other grasping a short Roman sword. 
A mantle covers the knees and is brought around 
and falls over the uplifted arm. The feet are shod 
with sandals. The back of the chair is elaborately 
carved and ornamented with acanthus leaves and 
garlands of flowers. On one side is standing a small 
figure of Columbus and on the other an Indian rests 
against the arm. On the right side of the chair is 



214 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

beautifully carved, in basso relievo, the figure of 
Phaeton in his car drawn by fleet steeds. On the 
left are represented North and South America as the 
infant Hercules strangling the serpent, and Iphiclus 
on the ground shrinking from the contest. 

Across the back of the marble seat is the Latin 
inscription, " Simidacriim istud ad magnum Libei'tatis 
exemplum nee sine ipsa dura tiiriim. Horatius Green- 
otcgh, Faciabat!' 

The resolution of Congress appropriated ;^5000, 
but the artist was unwilling to undertake the work 
for less than ^20,000, which sum was granted, and 
he was to complete it in four years. The work was 
commenced in Florence, and instead of four years 
eight years passed away before ready for shipment; 
and here arose a serious question : How was it to 
be transported to the United States? After some 
discussion. Commodore Hull was ordered to go with 
a government vessel to Leghorn to receive it on 
board. When he arrived there the hatches were 
found to be too small to admit it to the hold, and as 
it would involve considerable expense to prepare the 
vessel for such a burden — the statue weighing twenty 
tons — he refused to undertake the transportation. A 
merchantman, the ship '* Sea," after some delay, was 



WORKS OF ART. 



215 



chartered and her hatches enlarged, sides strength- 
ened, and otherwise prepared to receive the statue. 

The passage to this country was made in safety 
and the statue landed at the Navy Yard. It was a 
serious matter then to get it from this point into the 
Rotunda, and, although the distance from the Capi- 
tol is only one mile, it cost ;^5000 to place it there. 
The doors were found too small to admit it, and the 
masonry had to be cut away to allow it to enter. 
The weight was so great that there were serious 
doubts about the strength of the floor, and a pillar of 
masonry was erected below for additional support. 

It was finally placed in position : but oh ! what a 
disappointment! Nobody liked it, and the Commit- 
tee would have been very glad to have returned it 
to the artist as not agreeing with the contract. In- 
stead of a pedestrian statue it was a sitting statue, 
and instead of costing ;^20,ooo reached nearly 
;^45,000, for the artist sent an itemized bill, charging 
extra for everything except the design, and that was 
the very thing which failed to give satisfaction. 

Among the items charged were : — 
Cost of transportation from Carrara to Flor- 
ence, 1 1 yoke of cattle, 1 5 men . . $262 50 
Damage done to trees on the road from 

Florence 60 00 



2l6 NOTES ON WASHINGTON: 

Lease of studio for eight years, wages of foreman 
and assistant foreman, trough for working clay, ser- 
vants' wages, postage, stone-cutters' work on the 
pHnth and square part of chair, fuel consumed for 
five years, cotton cloth consumed in keeping the 
statue damp at' night, salaries of the life models 
who stood for the statue, travelling expenses, etc. 
etc., in all amounting to ^$8000. 

The statue remained in the Rotunda for one year, 
but very soon almost every one became convinced 
that the place was unsuitable for such a ponderous 
affair, and it grew at last to be a perfect eyesore to 
the members who were obliged to pass and repass 
every day. It was removed at last to the park and 
the doors again enlarged to take it out. There was 
no pedestal ready to receive it, and it was placed 
upon a platform of rough pine boards. 

In May, 1 842, a debate came up in the House of 
Representatives upon the subject of providing a ped- 
estal for the statue which was provocative of some 
very sharp remarks and numerous witticisms. 

Mr. Keim, of Pennsylvania, said that a suitable 
stone pedestal ought to be provided for it; he was 
not a member of the committee, but as far as they 
were concerned, ''they were willing that the statue, 



WORKS OF ART. 21/ 

with its wooden pedestal, should remain as it was, 
much like a Hindoo suttee, with a marble corpse on 
a funeral pile." 

The statue possessed very high merit all, he be- 
lieved, were agreed — conites or semi-conites, strict 
constructionists or latitudinarians, Whigs or Demo- 
crats ; but he thought we had not taken that care of 
it which it deserved. 

Mr. Henry A. Wise asked whether the pedestal 
was not, in strictness, a part of the statue; and 
whether Mr. Greenough was not bound to complete 
it for the compensation already allowed him. 

Mr. J. Q. Adams was in favor of employing the 
artist to complete it, but thought he should be pro- 
perly compensated. 

Mr. Wise then began a speech and asked, " was it 
the wish of this Government that an image — a per- 
sonification such as that — should be erected in the 
rotunda of the Capitol of the United States, or that 
such a statue of George Washington should be placed 
there ? He did not profess to be a man of exquisite 
taste and judgment in the fine arts; but, speaking as 
an American citizen, he must say, that that was not 
the conception of George Washington which had any 
place in his mind. He had been told by those who 
15 



2i8 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

had far higher claims to speak on subjects hke this, 
that to look upon that piece of sculpture made the 
blood to thrill in one's veins. All he could say was, 
that it never had any such effect upon him ; possibly 
because he had never looked long enough upon it at 
any one time. 

" He must confess it had on him much the same 
effect as it had produced on a gentleman of Mary- 
land, one of the olden time, a gentleman of the old 
school, who having heard so much said of this 
statue, mounted his horse and rode a long distance 
purposely to look at it. Having hitched his horse 
before the Capitol he mounted the steps and entered 
the rotunda, where, after looking at the statue for a 
few seconds, turned from it as, he said, the father of 
his country would do, who was the most modest of 
men. 

" What was it but a plagiarism from the heathen 
mythology to represent a Christian hero a Jupiter 
Tonans, or a Jupiter Stator, in place of an American 
hero and sage? — a naked statue of George Washing- 
ton ! of a man whose skin had probably never been 
looked upon by any living person. It might possi- 
bly suit modern Italian taste, but certainly it did 
not the American." 



I 



WORKS OF ART. 



219 



After criticizing the Latin inscription Mr. Wise 
continued: ''A countryman entering the rotunda by 
the Library door and seeing the back of the statue, 
would very naturally ask, Who is this ? and looking 
at the inscription, would say to himself, Simul Acrum ! 
Who is Simul Acrum ? But the next word (istud) 
would tell him. 

" It was offensive, he did not like the position of 
one hand, as if holding up the clouds — a position 
better suited to * the cloud-compelling Jove' — and to 
the gracious surrender of his sword with the other, 
which some Irishman had mistaken for a harp." 

He also sharply criticized the left " shin," and 
seemed no better pleased with the naked feet and 
sandals. He would like to cut off the head and 
throw the remainder into the Potomac, so as to hide 
it from all the world, like Persico wanted to do at 
Richmond when he saw Houdon's statue of Wash- 
ington represented in a military dress. 

The statue now stands upon a massive granite 
pedestal twelve feet high, and is much improved, 
but should be ten or fifteen feet higher to properly 
soften the heavy lines and hide the defects. 

It must have been a bitter disappointment to the 
artist to find his work so little appreciated, and I 



220 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

have no doubt he anticipated the most flattering 
compliments and acknowledgments from Congress 
upon his wonderful success. That he fully appre- 
ciated it himself can be inferred from an extract 
from one of his letters to Daniel Webster, then Sec- 
retary of State. Writing from Florence in 1841 
about the statue, he says : " It is the birth of my 
thought ; I have sacrificed to it the flower of my 
days and the freshness of my strength ; its every 
lineament has been moistened wath the sw^at of my 
toil and the tears of my exile. I would not barter 
aw^ay its associations with my name for the proudest 
fortune that avarice ever dreamed." 

An order for an equestrian statue of Washington 
was given to Mr. Clark Mills in 1853, and the sum 
of ;^50,ooo appropriated for the purpose. Mr. Mills 
had finished his statue of General Jackson the year 
before, which was begun under the auspices of the 
Jackson Monument Committee, but completed by 
Congress ; and as the public were pleased with it, 
he succeeded in securing an order for the statue of 
General Washington. Congress voted cannon for 
the metal of both. 

The erection of an equestrian statue at the national 
Capital in honor of General Nathaniel Greene, of 



WORKS OF ART. 221 

Rhode Island, was eminently appropriate, yet, after 
all, but a tardy act of justice. General Greene was 
one of the most dashing, brilliant officers of the 
Revolutionary period. He served from 1775 i^^ 3-^- 
tual service, without a day's furlough, till the final 
disbandment of the army in 1783, besides spending 
large sums of money in clothing and feeding the 
suffering soldiers. 

August 8, 1786, Congress passed a resolution ap- 
propriating ;^500 for a monument to be erected to his 
memory at the seat of the Federal Government; but, 
somehow, the matter was overlooked and nothing 
more done about it until 1874, when Congress ap- 
propriated ;^40,ooo for an equestrian statue in his 
honor. This was unveiled in 1878, ninety years 
having elapsed between the date of the original 
resolution and the completion of the work. 

All trace of his burial place has been lost. The 
statue is of bronze and represents the General in the 
uniform of an officer of the Continental Army ; his 
arm extended and pointing forward as though in the 
act of giving orders upon the field of battle. 

The beautiful Naval Monument on Pennsylvania 
Avenue at the foot of Capitol Hill, and near the en- 



222 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

trance to the grounds, is, to me, very much out of 
place. It is so completely overshadowed by the 
Capitol and the lofty dome that the beauty is almost 
entirely lost. Such a costly and artistic group as this 
should have been given an isolated, prominent posi- 
tion. 

It was suggested and designed by Admiral Porter, 
and the subscription list, starting in his fleet in 1865, 
grew very rapidly, until ;^ 1 0,000 were collected. 
Congress appropriated ;^20,ooo more, and several 
interested friends made large contributions. The 
monument was executed in Italy, and was erected 
"in memory of the officers, seamen, and marines of 
the United States Navy who fell in defence of the 
Union and Liberty of their country, 1861-65." It is 
of fine Carrara marble and about forty feet high. 
The surmounting figures represent America and 
History; the latter is recording the woes her suffer- 
ing sister whispers into her ear. On the west side 
of the plinth Victory crowns young Neptune and 
Mars. On the east side Peace stands offering the 
olive branch, and at her feet are gathered the pro- 
ducts of the peaceful arts. 

The whole thing is very chaste and beautiful, and, 
moreover, a good illustration of our indebtedness to 



WORKS OF ART. 



223 



the Greeks and Romans for their fanciful, mythologi- 
cal representations. There might have been grouped 
upon it a uniformed officer, a rough sailor, and a 
full-rigged ship; and coils of- ropes, anchors, and 
miniature guns might have been used for the minor 
adornments, but how much more beautiful are the 
graceful forms and flowing robes of the ideal females 
representing Peace, America, History, and Victory. 

The Indian formerly occupied a prominent place 
in the statuary and paintings added to the Capitol, 
and it has only been a short time since he was dis 
pensed with altogether. He was usually represented 
in his native dress of paint and feathers, and about 
to engage in some dreadful deed of blood. 

On the blockings east of the Capitol are two semi- 
colossal groups of statuary and an Indian figure in 
each. 

The smaller of the two is by Persico, and repre- 
sents Columbus holding aloft a small globe, which 
he is explaining to an Indian woman crouching at 
his side. The work is very beautifully executed, and 
the artist was engaged upon it five years. The cost 
was ;^24,ooo. A wag once described it to a friend 
as ''Columbus playing ball with an 'Indian woman." 

The other group, known as ^^The Rescue," is much 



224 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

larger. Greenough, the artist, was twelve years in 
completing it, and received ;^30,ooo for his work. 
There are five figures in the group — a dog, a woman 
with an infant in her arms, and a huge hunter wrest- 
ling with a naked Indian. 

These groups have been in position about thirty 
years, and, from the exposure to our trying climate, 
are very much blackened and much of their beauty 
marred. 

Mr. Greenough anticipated this effect and was 
extremely anxious to produce his design in bronze. 
He was in Florence at the time, and wrote on to 
Washington suggesting the use of the latter, giving 
his reasons for preferring it. In his letter he says, 
"I have lately exhibited to the public in this city the 
model of the group on which I am employed for the 
United States Government, and which is intended 
for one of the blockings which flank the stairs of the 
eastern front of the Capitol. The marble for the 
same is now in process of quarrying, and I shall 
hasten the work as far as is consistent with the de- 
mands of the art. I cannot, however, let slip this 
opportunity of raising my voice once more on the 
subject of the material to be employed in executing 
this group. Intended, as it is, to stand in the open 



WORKS OF ART. 



225 



air, exposed to a climate far more destructive than 
that of Florence, I cannot help but think that bronze 
were preferable to marble. The bronzes erected 
during the reign of Cosmo the First are as fresh and 
sharp at this day as when erected. The color they 
"have assumed from exposure adds to their grandeur, 
and makes them not less venerable as monuments 
than beautiful as feats of art. The marbles erected 
during the same reign have lost that unity of color 
which is the first element of effect in statuary; they 
retain their original snowy whiteness in those parts 
not subject to be granulated by the rain and frost, 
while they are positively black in all the more prom- 
inent and exposed portions." 

The use of bronze instead of marble for these 
groups would have greatly increased the cost, but 
the durability was worth considering. Thirty years 
from now they will probably be perfectly black. 

Just above these groups, in the niches each side 
of the great bronze door, are two very beautiful 
statues by Persico. As they are sheltered by the 
projecting portico the climate has had no effect upon 
them. 

One is a representation of Peace and the other of 
War, or, in other words, Ceres and Mars, and 



226 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

although the design is not original they are well ex- 
ecuted, and considered fine specimens of art. The 
artist was engaged upon them five or six years, and 
received ;^24,ooo. They are of Carrara marble. 

Some of the fountains in the city are quite artistic 
in design, and deserve a passing notice. The im* 
mense granite vase standing upon the tesselated 
pavement on the north side of the Treasury Depart- 
ment measures twelve feet across the top, and is cut 
from a single block of granite. The water rises in 
the centre of the bowl in the form of a small circle, 
fills it, and falls over the edge into a deep basin be- 
low, and although not thrown very high, the foun- 
tain is attractive on account of its novelty. 

The drinking fountain on the west side of the 
Capitol is entirely too handsome to be hidden away, 
as it is, under the steps leading up to the Rotunda. 
It was designed by Powers, erected in 1836, and 
cost over one thousand dollars. There is a plinth of 
white marble about ten feet in height; at the corners 
are columns of polished blue-veined marble with 
white capitals. These support an entablature, and 
the whole is surmounted with ^n ornamental vase.' 
The water flows from a bronze faucet into a large 




WORKS OF ART, 22/ 

bronze vase, sunken in a broad marble platform. 
The platform is very much worn at the edges, and, 
if the hollows are indicative of the number of feet 
pressing upon it, tens of thousands must have 
quenched their thirst at the fountain in the last forty- 
five years. It stood, of course, through the late war, 
and I have no doubt the marks of rough usage it 
now bears were made during that period. 

The Bartholdi Fountain, so conspicuous near the 
entrance of the Main Building at the Centennial Ex- 
bition and afterward purchased by the Government 
for ^6000, now ornaments the Botanical Garden. It 
is quite imposing when playing, but at other times 
has very much the appearance of being placed there 
temporarily until a suitable place can be found to 
receive it, a sort of unfinished, unsettled look. There 
was some disappointment upon the part of the Gov- 
ernment after the purchase. The fountain was sup- 
posed to be of bronze, but after exposure to the 
weather found to be of iron bronzed, and of course 
not worth the price paid. 

The latest addition to the works of art in the city 
is the pedestrian statue of Professor Joseph Henry, 



228 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

unveiled April 19, 1883. It is of bronze upon a 
pedestal of Scotch granite, and stands upon the lawn 
directly in front of the Smithsonian Institution, of 
which for so many years the Professor was the hon- 
ored Secretary. W. W. Story was the artist. 



XXIV. 

CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY. 

/^~\NE lovely evening in June I strolled out to the 
^-^ Congressional Cemetery, which is located 
upon the brow of a hill overlooking the Eastern 
Branch about one mile and a half from the Capitol. 

The spot is a singularly attractive one, and on this 
particular evening appeared at its very best. The 
foliage and the roses were in perfection. The new- 
mown hay in the surrounding meadows filled the air 
with fragrance. The sluggish waters of the Branch 
flowed noiselessly around the curves of the sloping 
bank; the high hills on the Maryland side clothed 
in beautiful verdure formed a charming background 
to the pleasing picture, and no sound was heard to 
bre'ak the stillness save the songs of birds and the 
clear notes of a bugle from the Navy Yard near by, 
calling the men from their quarters for evening drill. 

A truly lovely spot for that long, long sleep which 



230 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

awaits each mortal, and also a beautiful calm retreat 
where the living may spend a quiet hour, away from 
the noise, bustle, and weariness of the city. 

There are many distinguished persons buried in 
the Cemetery. In a prominent place stands the very 
imposing monument over the grave of William Wirt, 
Attorney-General from 1817 to 1829, and author of 
the '* Life of Patrick Henry." 

In the northeast portion is the high monument of 
Elbridge Gerry, one of the signers of the Declaration 
of Independence and the fifth Vice-President of the 
United States; and near it that of George Clinton, 
who was a member of the Continental Congress, 
voted for the Declaration of Independence, distin- 
guished himself in the Revolutionary War, and was 
Vice-President w^ith Thomas Jefferson as President. 

Within a stone's throw of the graves of these dis- 
tinguished patriots is the unmarked resting-place of 
Herold, one of the conspirators engaged in the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln, and the companion of 
Booth in his wild flight through Maryland after the 
dreadful deed. 

In spite of my knowledge of his terrible crime, a 
feeling of pity filled my breast as I looked upon his 
grave beside those of the parents who gave him life. 



CONGRESSIONA L CEME TER Y. 



231 



and thought of the mother whose heart was broken 
by the awful end of her much-loved boy. 

His parents are said to have been very respectable 
people, and his father at one time held quite a re- 
sponsible position under the Government. This boy 
— for he was only about twenty-two — never gave any 
evidence of great intellectual force, and evil compan- 
ions and strong drink probably had more to do with 
his unhappy c^'eer than a really depraved nature. 

In the same part of the Cemetery is the grave of 
Push Ma-ta-ha, a Choctaw Chief, who died in Wash- 
ington in 1824 while on a visit to the Great White 
Father. He was a renowned chief in the councils 
of his nation, and always the white man's friend. 
His association with the white man made him am- 
bitious of earthly honors, for almost his last words 
were: "When I am gone let the big guns be fired 
over me!" His brother chiefs erected a monument 
over him, and these words are a part of the inscrip- 
tion. 

Near the brow of the hill is the very handsome 
monument of General Alexander Macomb, at one 
time Commander-in-Chief of the United States 
Army; also the broken column erected in honor of 
Major-General Jacob Brown. A number of the old 



232 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



residents of the city are buried in the cemetery, and 
some of the graves date back to the beginning of 
the century. 

One pecuHar feature of the place is the small 
stone cenotaphs erected in memory of deceased 
Congressmen. There are two long rows, and, 
strange to say, only five or six of those whose 
names appear upon them are buried there. It was 
formerly considered an honor to have such a monu- 
ment erected, but the custom has been done away 
with, and it is only in cases of actual burial that such 
stones are now erected. 

The Cemetery was originally the burying ground 
of Christ Church, and in return for donations of land 
and money one hundred burial-sites were set apart 
for the use of Congress. The number was afterward 
increased to three hundred. 



XXV. 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



'' I "^HE beautiful Capitol, with its lofty dome, will 
^ have to share honors very soon with the 
Washington Monument, now approaching comple- 
tion ; for if the original plan is adhered to, the latter 
will tower above it nearly two hundred feet. It is 
now about thirty feet higher than the Goddess of 
Liberty upon the dome. 

It is to be regretted that a structure as massive 
and costly as this obelisk should not have been 
made more beautiful. It is conspicuous for the ab- 
sence of beauty, and the one idea of the originators 
seems to have been a determination to build a shaft 
higher than anything else in the world ; a genuine 
American idea to " beat all creation" without regard 
to cost or effect. 

True, the original design embraced additions very 
grand and magnificent in themselves, but not at all 
i6 



234 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



in keeping with our way of building, living, and 
doing things generally, and it was found almost at 
the start that it w^ould have to be very much modified. 

It was intended to have a grand circular colon- 
naded building 250 feet in diameter, and 1 00 feet 
high, from which was to spring an obelisk shaft 70 
feet at base and 500 feet high. 

The vast rotunda forming the grand base of the 
monument is surrounded by 30 columns of massive 
proportions, being 12 feet in diameter and 45 feet 
high, elevated upon a lofty base or stylobate of 20 
feet elevation and 300 feet square, surmounted by 
an entablature 20 feet high, and crowned by a mas- 
sive balustrade 1 5 feet high. 

A tetrastyle portico (4 columns in front) in triple 
rows of the same proportions and order with the 
columns of the colonnade, distinguishes the entrance 
to the monument and serves as a pedestal for the 
triumphal car and statue of the illustrious Chief; the 
steps to this portico are flanked by massive block- 
ings, surmounted by appropriate figures and trophies. 

Over each column in the great frieze of the entab- 
latures around the entire building are sculptured es- 
cutcheons (coats-of-arms of each State in the Union) 
surrounded by bronze civic wreaths, banded together 



WA SHING TON MONUMENT. 235 

by festoons of oak leaves, etc., all of which spring 
(each way) from the centre of the portico, where the 
coat-of-arms of the United States are emblazoned. 

The statues surrounding the rotunda outside, un- 
der the colonnade, are all elevated upon pedestals, 
and will be those of the glorious signers of the 
Declaration .of Independence. 

Ascending the portico outside to the terrace level, 
a lofty vomitoria (doorway) 30 feet high, leads into 
the cella (rotunda gallery), 50 feet wide, 500 feet in 
circumference, and 68 feet high, with a colossal pillar 
in the centre 70 feet in diameter, around which the 
gallery sweeps. 

Both sides of the gallery are divided into spaces 
by pilasters, elevated on a continued zocle or base 5 
feet high, forming an order with its entablature 40 
feet high, crowned by a vaulted ceiling 20 feet high, 
divided by radiating arched vaults, corresponding 
with the relative positions of the opposing pilasters, 
and inclosing deep sunken coffers enriched with 
paintings. 

The spaces between the pilasters are sunk into 
niches for the reception of the statues of the fathers 
of the Revolution, contemporary with the immortal 
Washington ; over which are large tablets to receive 



236 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

the national paintings commemorative of the battles 
and other scenes of that memorable period. Oppo- 
site to the entrance of this gallery, at the extremity 
of the great circular wall, is the grand niche for the 
reception of the statue of the " Father of his Coun- 
try," elevated on its appropriate pedestal, and desig- 
nated as principal in the group by its colossal pro- 
portions. 

This spacious gallery and rotunda, which prop- 
erly may be denominated the "National Pantheon," 
is lighted in four grand divisions from above, and, by 
its circular form, presents each subject decorating its 
walls in an interesting point of view and with proper 
effect, as the curiosity is kept up every moment, 
from the whole room not being presented to the eye 
at one glance, as in the case of a straight gallery. 

Entering the centre pier through an arched way, 
you pass into a spacious circular area, and ascend 
with an easy grade, by a railway, to the grand ter- 
race, 75 feet above the base of the monument. This 
terrace is 700 feet in circumference," 180 feet wide, 
inclosed by a colonnaded balustrade 15 feet high 
with its base and capping. The circuit of this grand 
terrace is studded with small temple-formed struc- 
tures, constituting the cupolas of the lanterns, light- 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



237 



ing the pantheon gallery below; by means of these 
little temples, from a gallery within, a bird's-eye view 
is had of the statues, etc., below. 

In the centre of the grand terrace above described 
rises the lofty obelisk shaft of the monument, 70 feet 
square at the base and 500 feet high ; at the foot of 
this shaft, and on its face, project four massive zocles 
25 feet high, supporting so many colossal symbolic 
tripods of victory, 20 feet high, surmounted by facial 
columns with their symbols of authority. These 
zocle faces are embellished with inscriptions, which 
are continued around the entire base of the shaft, and 
occupy the surface of that part of the shaft between 
the tripods. On each face of the shaft above this is 
sculptured the four leading events in General Wash- 
ington's eventful career, in basso relievo, and above 
this the shaft is perfectly plain to within 50 feet of its 
summit, where a simple star is placed emblematic 
of the glory which the name of Washington has 
attained. 

The cost of all this, including obelisk and pan- 
theon, was estimated at ;^ 1,1 22,000. 

The idea of completing the pantheon was aban- 
doned some years ago, and to erect the plain shaft 
only. When this is finished there will be a terrace 



238 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

at the base 200 feet square at the top, 17 feet high, 
terminating with slopes of two-thirds, with grass- 
plats and paved walks, and ascended by appropriate 
steps. The grounds around will also be improved 
and ornamented. 

The Monument has had an eventful history. Half 
a century has passed away since the society was or- 
ganized for the purpose of erecting it, and not a 
member of it is now living to enjoy the promised 
fulfilment of their hopes. 

It appeared for many years as though the enter- 
prise had proved a total failure; and now that the 
Monument has awakened to new life after its long 
slumber, there is an impatient desire upon the part 
of the boys and girls, who contributed so liberally 
towards its erection years ago, to see it completed. 
They have grown to manhood and womanhood, and 
are in turn telling their children of Washington and 
what they have done to help honor his memory. 

A full and connected history has never been pub- 
lished, except in the Reports of Committees of Con- 
gress, and as these documents are accessible to 
comparatively few, a brief outline of its history may 
interest the reader and also prove valuable for refer- 
ence in the future. 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



239 



On the death of Washington, a joint Committee 
of the two Houses of Congress was appointed to 
consider the most suitable manner of paying honor 
to his memory. 

Among the resolutions adopted in their report was 
one, "that a marble monument be erected by the 
United States, at the city of Washington, and that 
the family of General Washington be requested to 
permit his body to be deposited under it, and that 
the monument be so designed as to commemorate 
the great events of his military and political life." 

On May 8, 1800, the Committee made a further 
report to the House of Representatives, on which 
the House passed a resolution, "that a mausoleum 
be erected to George Washington in the city of 
Washington." 

January i, 1801, the House passed a bill appro- 
priating ;^200,ooo for the erection of the mausoleum. 

Nothing more seems to have been done in the 
matter for twenty years, and on January 15, 1824, 
Mr. Buchanan offered in the House of Representa- 
tives the following resolution: ^^ Resolved^ That a 
Committee be appointed whose duty it shall be to 
inquire in what manner the resolutions of Congress 
passed on the 24th of December, 1799, relative to 



240 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

the erection of a marble monument in the Capitol at 
the city of Washington, to commemorate the great 
events of the military and political life of General 
Washington may be best accomplished, and that 
they have leave to report by bill or otherwise." 

The resolution was, after discussion, laid upon the 
table. 

Nothing more was done by Congress, and as these 
resolutions remained unexecuted as late as 1833, 
some citizens of Washington, whose names were a 
passport to public confidence, formed in that year a 
voluntary association for erecting " a great National 
Monument to the memory of Washington at the seat 
of the Federal Government." 

George Watterston, Esq., was the leading spirit in 
the undertaking, and the conception of the enter- 
prise originated with him. 

Chief Justice Marshall was the first president of 
the Washington National Monument Society, and 
held the position until the time of his death in 1835, 
when Ex-President Madison became president. 

The proposed monument was intended to be 
raised by the voluntary contributions of the Ameri- 
can people. The funds were to be collected in all 
parts of the United States, and in order that every 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



241 



person might have an opportunity of contributing, 
the contributions were hmited to one dollar a year. 
This restriction was removed, though, in 1845. 

The work progressed very slowly at first, but in 
1836 ;^28,000 had been collected. This fiand was 
judiciously invested, and in 1847 t]ie interest and 
subsequent collections amounted to ;^87,ooo, and 
were deemed sufficient to justify the Society in be- 
ginning the erection. 

Congress authorized the Society to erect the mon- 
ument on one of the public reservations within the 
limits of the city of Washington not otherwise oc- 
cupied. The present site was selected on account 
of its nearness to the river, where nothing could be 
built around to obstruct the view, and was conve- 
nient for the landing of stone, sand, and lime used 
in constructing it; and was also in full view of Mount 
Vernon, where reposed the ashes of the Chief. An- 
other reason for selecting this site was that Wash- 
ington himself had selected this particular spot for 
'* a monument to the American Revolution," which, 
in the year 1795, was proposed should "be erected 
or placed at the permanent seat of government of 
the United States." 

The anniversary of American Independence was 



242 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



chosen as a fit day for laying the corner-stone of a 
monument to its hero; and on the 4th of July, 1848, 
under a bright sky, in the presence of the President 
and Vice-President of the United States, senators, 
representatives, heads of the executive departments, 
and other officers of the government ; the corporate 
authorities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alex- 
andria; military companies, associations of various 
kinds, delegations from States, Territories, and In- 
dian tribes, and a countless multitude, Robert C. 
Winthrop, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
pronounced an eloquent oration, and the corner- 
stone was laid. 

In six years the obelisk was raised to 170 feet and 
;^230,ooo expended. The Society solicited contribu- 
tions from the whole people, without distinction of 
party, sect, or creed ; but the funds did not come in 
as rapidly as was hoped for, and in a short time it 
was obliged to suspend the work for want of means. 

In 1854 the Board of Managers presented a me- 
morial to Congress, giving a brief history of the 
enterprise, and stating that all recent efforts on their 
part to obtain means for completing the work had 
proved abortive ; and they brought the subject be- 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 243 

fore Congress for such action as it might deem 
proper. 

The memorial was referred to a select committee, 
and on February 22, 1855, Mr. May, of Maryland, 
from the committee, made an able and eloquent re- 
port, and recommended a subscription of ;^200,ooo 
by Congress '' on behalf of the people of the United 
States, to aid the funds of the Society." 

But on the very day of the presentment of this 
report the managers of the Society were superseded 
in their places by an unlawful election. The gentle- 
men engaged in the preparation of the history of the 
Society were very discreet and guarded in their allu- 
sions to this exciting time, and do not enter into 
particulars. It is well known, though, that the 
Know-Nothing party took violent possession of the 
Monument office and papers in 1855, and held 
them until 1858, when they were abandoned. A 
mob gathered about it at the time they took pos- 
session, and were so bent upon mischief and so bit- 
ter in their feelings against certain nationalities, that 
they seized the block of marble presented by the 
Pope, hammered it into pieces, and threw the frag- 
ments into the Potomac River. 

The gentlemen interested in the enterprise, ad- 



244 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 



monished by the experience of the past, decided to 
apply to Congress for a charter, and on February 22, 
1859, an Act passed Congress, and was approved by 
the President on the 26th, incorporating "The Wash- 
ington National Monument Society." By one of its 
provisions the President of the United States for the 
time being is ex-officio president of the Society, and 
the Governors of the several States respectively ex- 
officio its vice-presidents. 

Only two courses of stone were laid between the 
years 1855-58, so that the monument had grown 
but four feet, and was 174 feet high when the Soci- 
ety regained possession. 

In accordance with their former system the mem- 
bers invoked the aid of the States a»d Territories, 
and voluntary associations. The young State of 
California generously anticipated the appeal to her, 
and the Legislature passed an Act appropriating one 
thousand dollars annually in aid of the monument. 
This was never carried out, however, owing to the 
war and a lack of interest in the subject, but at the 
annual election of i860, the citizens contributed at 
the polls ;$ 1 0,962.0 1, which was afterward paid to 
the Society through one of its friends. 

"Each State," said the select Committee of the 



WA SHING TON MONUMENT. 



245 



House of Representatives in their report in 1855, 
" and two of the Territories of the Union have con- 
tributed a block of marble or stone, inscribed with 
its arms or some suitable inscription or device, and 
a great many others have been offered by various 
institutions and societies throughout the land ; and 
several foreign governments have testified their de- 
sire to unite in this great work of humanity, intended 
to commemorate the virtue of its chief ornament and 
example." 

As is well known, the storm of war which burst 
over our land in i860 put a stop to all work upon 
the Monument, and it stood for fifteen or twenty 
years like a great tall, ugly factory chimney by the 
river side without anything more being done. 

Congress then became stirred up on the subject 
and made an effort to finish it by the Centennial 
year, but found that would be impossible. The 
work, though, has gone on ever since, and there is a 
prospect now of having it completed in time for the 
next inaugural festivities. 

The memorial stones presented by individuals, 
States, Territories, and foreign countries have, with 
the exception of that from Rome, been preserved 
and kept under cover. About forty of them have 



246 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

been built in with the structure, the others will be 
cut and properly fitted into niches upon the inner 
walls after the obelisk is completed. 

These stones are extremely interesting, and one 
feels strangely moved while looking upon them ; 
patriotic emotions swell the heart of even the most 
indifferent observer, and a little bit of the spirit of ''j^ 
takes possession of him in spite of himself. 

One large block of marble bearing the device, in 
bas relief, of a school-house with a number of boys 
and girls on their way to school, is from 7500 chil- 
dren of Baltimore, Md. The date is 1855. There 
is another block from the Sunday schools of New 
York and one from the Sunday schools of Philadel- 
phia. How touching! The little children of the 
country bringing their contributions to help rear a 
Monument to honor the memory of Washington ! 

There is a block of granite from the Cherokee Na- 
tion of Indians, sent in 1850; a block of granite from 
the battle-ground of Bunker Hill, and one from Brad- 
dock's field; also a large block of black marble from 
the battle-ground of Long Island, 1776, contributed 
in 1853. The stones from the several States and 
Territories bear appropriate inscriptions, and some 
are very handsomely carved. The block^of marble 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 24/ 

from Louisiana has a pelican and her brood, and 
the inscription, "Ever faithful to the Constitution 
and the Union !" This stone, of course, was sent 
sorr^ time previous to the late war, and in view of 
the stirring and extraordinary events brought to light 
by the intervening years the motto reads strangely 
to-day. There is also a large marble slab from New 
Orleans, bearing the names of officers, privates, and 
honorary members of the Continental Guards of that 
city. This stone was sent in 1856, and when placed 
within the structure — as of course it will be — there 
will be a singular mingling of sentiment and reality^ 
of true patriotism and false; for it is reasonable to 
suppose that nearly every member of the company 
entered the Confederate service. Men were too 
much in demand during the war for such a fine 
body of soldiers to be overlooked; and it is also rea- 
sonable to suppose that very many fell in defence of 
the Southern cause; but all this only shows what a 
wonderful people we are! 

Vermont contributed a block of marble and Nevada 
a block of granite. The latter has the name of the 
State cut across the face in large letters and filled in 
with pure silver. 

Pennsylvania sent a large block of marble orna- 



248 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

merited with a sculptured spread eagle. There are 
a number of other stones from that State, from Odd- 
Fellows, Masons, and other societies, each bearing 
an appropriate device. 

Ladies and gentlemen of the dramatic profession 
contributed a handsome block of marble with the 
head of Shakespeare in bas relief, and a suitable in- 
scription. 

Michigan sent a block of native copper weighing 
2100 pounds, as "an emblem of her trust in the 
Union." 

Altogether there have been more than a hundred 
stones contributed, and a number are from foreign 
countries. 

There is a small block of granite from the orig- 
inal chapel built to WilHam Tell in 1388 on Lake 
Lucerne, Switzerland, at the spot where he escaped 
from Gessler; a block of rough dark stone from 
Japan, and a similar one from China; a block of 
mottled marble from the Alexandrian Library, 
Egypt, and a block of variegated granite from the 
free town of Bremen. 

Greece contributed an immense block of pure white 
marble, said to be a portion of the Parthenon at 
Athens. The inscription is in Greek. 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 249 

The Governor and- Commune of the Islands of 
Paros and Naxos presented a block of marble in 
1855. In the same year the officers of the United 
States Steam Frigate "Saranac" presented a block 
of marble from the Temple of Esculapius, Island of 
Paros. 

J. A. Lehman presented a small slab of marble 
with an ancient Egyptian head, which is supposed 
to have been carved between two and three thousand 
years ago, for the Temple erected in honor of Au- 
gustus on the banks of the Nile. 

D. P. Heap, M.D., presented, nearly thirty years 
ago, a curious stone taken from the ruins of Car- 
thage. It is one of the wonderful mosaics which 
have been uncovered there in modern times. 

When Dom Pedro visited Washington during the 
Centennial year, he was very much interested in the 
Monument and these different stones, and was some- 
what surprised to find that none had been sent from 
Brazil, and upon his return home ordered one to be 
prepared. It was received here in 1878, and although 
not at all handsome, makes up in size what it lacks 
in beauty. It is of granite, and will fill in consider- 
able space if used in the structure. 

The latest contribution from foreign countries is 
17 



250 



NOTES on WASHINGTON. 



from the King of Siam, which arrived the present 
year. It is a large slab of slate, one side covered 
with barnacles, as though it might have lain by the 
sea-shore for a time. It is interesting on account of 
the donor, but cannot be utilized for building pur- 
poses, and could not be considered ornamental under 
any circumstance. 

The monument is now 350 feet high. The work 
is progressing very rapidly, but requires much labor 
and skill to build properly, and cannot be run up in 
a few days like the walls of an ordinary dwelling. 
The blocks of marble, which from below appear like 
large bricks, are really two feet wide, two feet high, 
and from five to seven feet long. They are taken 
up on trucks, which run upon rails laid directly from 
the workshop to the elevator. The elevator is worked 
by steam, and very strong and massive. I had the 
pleasure of going up the Monument one day not long 
since, and there were upon the elevator at the same 
time five other persons and a huge tub of broken 
stone for filling in the corners and uneven spaces. 

The sensations experienced in going up are not 
pleasant.* The space passed through is dark as mid- 
night and silent as the grave. The time occupied 
in making the ascent is from six to eight minutes, 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



251 



and a great relief is felt when the top is reached and 
you have air and light again. The view from the 
top is very fine, and repays one for the strain upon 
the nerves in going up. 

For the protection of the workmen engaged in 
laying the heavy stones, strong iron arms project 
from the upper edge of the walls, to which is attached 
a heavy rope netting. Several have fallen over into 
this net, but have not been injured in any way. 

When the obelisk is completed there will be an 
iron stairway to the top, and the interior lighted 
with electric lights. 



XXVT. 



SOLDIERS HOME. 



'^ I "HE beautiful park surrounding the Soldiers' 
^ Home is the favorite drive of Washingtonians 
possessing stylish turnouts and spirited horses, and 
every pleasant afternoon hundreds of carriages pass 
through it. Its miles of hard, nicely graded roads, 
winding through velvety lawns, shady dells, and pic- 
turesque views, are just the thing for the display of 
fine equipages, and at the same time afford a pleas- 
ant, cool retreat from the dust and glare of the city. 

The Home was established in 1852 for the benefit 
of old and disabled soldiers of the regular army, and 
while the grounds are in one sense a public park, 
they really belong to the soldiers and are kept in 
order by them. 

To General Winfield Scott belongs the honor of 
suggesting the institution, and in recognition of his 
services a fine bronze statue has been erected upon 



SOLDIERS' HOME. 



253 



the lawn facing the Capitol. The money for the 
first outlay came from Mexico. During the war 
with that country and after the capture of their Cap- 
ital, the citizens took refuge upon the house-tops 
and mercilessly fired upon our soldiers, and for this 
outrageous mode of warfare General Scott levied a 
tax upon them of ;^ 100,000, which was paid. Gen- 
eral Scott transmitted the amount to the Secretary 
of War, with the suggestion that it be used for the 
purpose above named, which was done. 

Commissioners were appointed, under the direction 
of Congress, to select a suitable site and have a 
building erected, and the present attractive retreat is 
the result. The first piece of land purchased -com- 
prised 256 acres, and with the mansion upon it cost 
^57,000. This land was the property of G. W. 
Riggs, Esq., and the house, his country residence, 
has been very substantially built and provided with 
the conveniences of bath, furnace, piazzas, etc. Pre- 
sident Hayes occupied this house the summer he 
spent at the Home, and President Arthur spent the 
greater part of last summer there. 

In 1853 three acres were added to the original 
tract, and in 1855 three more. 

In 1872 a very valuable addition was made by the 



254 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

purchase of " Harewood," the country seat of W. W. 
Corcoran, Esq. This property consisted of 191 acres, 
much of it highly improved, and with a subsequent 
purchase of forty odd acres, increased the original 
tract to 502 acres. 

The main building is of marble; Norman in de- 
sign, and, with the additional dormitory, capable of 
accommodating four hundred persons. 

The Home is supported by a tax of 1 2\ cents per 
month upon all soldiers of the army, collected every 
two months ; all the unclaimed effects of deceased 
soldiers, and also whatever is due deserters at the 
time of desertion; forfeitures and the fines imposed 
by courts-martial. 

Upon fifty-five acres of the land vegetables are 
raised for the use of the inmates, and grass cut from 
two hundred and fifty acres. 

The old soldiers have a very comfortable time, and 
their quarters could not well be made any more at- 
tractive. There is a fine hospital, a beautiful little 
chapel of Seneca stone, and a library and reading- 
room. Some of the men are unable to read and 
some do not care to take the trouble, and a custom 
has grown up at the Home of having one of the men, 
who has a good voice and who reads well, to read the 



SOLDIERS' HOME. 255 

daily papers to the others every morning. He takes 
his station in a summer-house in front of the main 
building when the weather is pleasant, and the old 
soldiers, with their lighted pipes, gather around him 
and listen. For this service he receives about seven 
dollars a month extra pay. 

President Buchanan and President Lincoln were 
both in the habit of summering at the Home, but 
they did not occupy the same cottage now used by 
the President. 

The park will compare favorably with those of 
other cities. It is far more beautiful than Central 
Park; it is not as large as Fairmount Park of Phila- 
delphia, and lacks the picturesque Schuylkill River, 
which adds so much to the latter, but I think some 
of the views are quite as fine as that from George's 
Hill, Fairmount. 



XXVII. 



ENVIRONS. 



'^ I "O do full justice to the environs of Washington 
-■- would require the pen of the historian, the 
novelist, and the poet, for it seems to me every hill- 
top, every mansion-house, and almost every farm- 
house within a radius of ten miles has a peculiar 
story of its own. It may be of love, or war, or of 
some individual greatly distinguished in the political 
history of the country; and a simple mention of the 
facts can give but a faint idea of the interesting 
stories connected with them. 

Upon the heights right across the river is Arling- 
ton House, which visitors to the Capital always 
regard as one of the chief points of interest, and 
are always ready to listen to anything relating to it 
whether of the past or present. 

The history of the estate is interesting. The land 
is a part of the tract known as the Howson Grant, 



ENVIRONS. 257 

made during the reign of Charles II., and granted 
by Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, to 
Robert Howson, in consideration of having trans- 
ported a number of persons into the colony. There 
were six thousand acres of it, and on the 13th day 
of October, 1669, Howson conveyed the grant to 
John Alexander for six hogsheads of tobacco. The 
tract extended from the Long Bridge to some dis- 
tance below Alexandria, and the latter place was 
named in compliment to the owner. 

The property descended from father to children, 
and in course of time became divided into several 
tracts. John Parke Custis purchased a portion from 
Gerard Alexander, and there is a story current in the 
famity about the transaction worth repeating. 

It seems that negotiations had been pending for 
some time, and one Sunday morning Mr. Custis and 
Mr. Alexander attended service at Falls Church, 
Virginia. After service Mr. Alexander invited Mr. 
Custis — as the custom was at that time — to go home 
with him and dine. The invitation was accepted, 
and after a comfortable dinner some conversation 
took place about the land, and Mr. Custis wishing to 
close the bargain offered his check or note in pay- 
ment. Mrs. Alexander, who was a strict church 



258 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

woman, overheard the conversation, and spoke up 
very decidedly, saying: "We can have no business 
transacted here on the Lord's day." Her husband 
turned to his guest and said: "The women rule here, 
so put back your check." The afternoon was spent in 
pleasant conversation, and the evening drawing near, 
Mr. Custis went out to mount his horse to return to 
his home. His host followed him to the horse-block, 
and some further conversation took place about the 
property, and the check was again offered and this 
time accepted. The next day Mr. Alexander learned 
to his sorrow that Congress had the Saturday previ- 
ous passed a law in regard to the Continental money 
which made the payment he had received, instead of 
a fine price for his land, almost a total loss. 

This story may not be strictly true, but it is well 
known that. Mr. Custis purchased the land, and that 
in 1778 General Alexander executed the following 
instrument : — 

" It is this day agreed between Gerard Alexander, 
of Fairfax County, of the one part, and Robert 
Adams, for John Parke Custis of the other, that the 
said Gerard Alexander will comply with the said 
John Parke Custis, his heirs and assigns forever, all 
the land he is entitled to between the line called 



ENVIRONS. 259 

North Six (in Howson's patent agreeable to a plat 
and recovery made lately in the General Court) and 
Potomac River, supposed to be 1,000 acres, for the 
sum of eleven thousand pounds currency. Possession 
will be given on the 25th of December, 1778, for the 
performance of which the above parties have bound 
themselves in one thousand pounds. 

GERARD ALEXANDER, 
ROBERT ADAMS. 
Witness : Philip Alexander. 

Fairfax, December 25, 1778. 
Then received of John Parke Custis the sum of eleven thousand 
pounds, Virginia currency, in full, for a tract of land, supposed one 
thousand acres, lying on Potomac River, and in the county of 
Fairfax. 

(Signed) GERARD ALEXANDER." 

In the will of Robert Alexander, who was a brother 
of Gerard, made in 1793, is the following : " Item : I 
give to my son Robert and his heirs forever, one- 
half of the land which I formerly sold to the late 
Mr. John P. Custis, and upon which I now live." . . . 
This land was probably another part of the original 
tract, and was either not paid for by Mr. Custis, or 
was repurchased by Mr. Alexander. 

The mansion was built about the beginning of the 
century by G. W. P. Custis, son of John Parke Cus- 



260 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

tis. He must have been a very young man at the 
time, and could have scarcely attained his majority, 
having been born in 1781 at Mount Airy, Md. 
Young men in those days must have been more 
mature at twenty-one than they are at the present 
time, for such an undertaking as the planning and 
erection of an imposing residence Hke ''Arlington 
House" would overwhelm the average youth of to- 
day. The mansion was designed from drawings of 
the Temple at Paestum, near Naples. There is a 
main building 60 feet wide, and two wings, each 40 
feet wide, giving a front of 140 feet. The portico 
across the front is 25 feet deep and 60 feet long, and 
supported by eight large columns. There are many 
fine old mansions scattered through Virginia, relics 
of colonial times, and this house is a fair sample. 
They were all famous for hospitality, and for the 
generous style of living of their respective owners. 
Mr. Custis was not a whit behind his ancestors in 
this respect, and Arlington was for many years the 
favorite visiting place for both old and young of 
Washington and vicinity. 

He was a patron of agriculture, and bestowed 
much attention upon fine stock, and, becoming inte- 
rested in the rearing of fine sheep, in 1 803 inaugu- 



ENVIRONS. 261 

rated an annual convention for the promotion of 
agriculture, etc., which was known throughout the 
country by the title of "Arlington Sheep Shearings." 
They were held on the slope in front of the man- 
sion, near a spring which gushed out from beneath 
the roots of a grand old oak tree. 

In Niks' s Weekly Register of May 23, 1812, one 
of these anniversaries is described as follows : " The 
most liberal attention was paid by Mr. Custis to the 
accommodation and convenience of the company, 
in producing a profusion of necessary refreshments, 
and in furnishing books for the amusement of those 
not immediately engaged in the business of the day. 
The company, consisting of several members of the 
National Legislature, some French gentlemen of dis- 
tinction, and a number of respectable characters 
from the States of Virginia and Maryland and the 
District of Columbia, repaired to the marque pre- 
pared for the occasion, when, at half-past three, they 
sat down to an elegant dinner, consisting principally 
of a great variety of fish (served up in various and 
tasteful style) furnished from the adjoining river. 

" The day was uncommonly mild for the season. 
The awning, composed of the canvas which had so 
often sheltered the immortal founder of the liberties 



262 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

of his country, beautifully ornamented with festoons 
of laurel, and a striking likeness of the General sus- 
pended over the foot of the table, altogether inspired 
feelings of unutterable expression." 

Mr. Custis was not entirely successful in his sheep 
rearing venture. By dogs and thieves his fine flock 
of merinos was finally reduced to two sheep, that 
delighted to wander at their own sweet will over the 
grassy slopes and heights of Arlington. 

The hospitality, for which the mansion was so 
famous, did not cease at the death of Mr. Custis. 
He bequeathed it to his daughter, Mrs. Lee, wife of 
General Robert E. Lee, the well-known Confederate 
leader, and at the beginning of the war they were 
residing there. At that time the house was a charm- 
ing country home ; and apart from the refined, 
agreeable inmates, stored with so many objects of 
historical interest, one esteemed it a privilege to be 
entertained there. 

Portraits of Washington, Mrs. Washington, beau- 
tiful Nelly Cu5tis, Colonel Daniel Parke, Governor 
Will Byrd, and other ancestors on both sides of the 
family adorned the walls ; valuable china and silver 
plate graced the sideboard; antique furniture and pre- 
cious heirlooms were scattered through the rooms; in 



ENVIRONS. 263 

the hall hung the antlers of the deer killed at Mount 
Vernon in 1799, by order of Washington, for the en- 
tertainment of a favored guest, and afterward served 
up in his own dining-room, and the library contained 
valuable books, letters, and historical documents. 
Everything combined to make an attractive home, 
and it is painful to dwell upon the great change which 
has come to the grand old homestead by reason of 
the storm of war that raged so many months around 
it. Mr. Custis in making his will devised his prop- 
erty to Mrs. Lee during her natural life, and at her 
death to descend to her son, and was to remain, pic- 
tures, plate, furniture, books, etc., unchanged and en- 
tire at Arlington, and descend to his latest posterity. 

How little did he anticipate or realize what a fear- 
ful storm was brewing even at that time, and the 
changes to follow in its train. 

The family has been broken up. The parents are 
dead, the household treasures scattered or destroyed 
beyond restoration; the walls of the mansion, once 
bright with interesting family portraits, are now hung 
with plots of the adjoining graveyard showing the 
exact locality of each grave, and the hall resounds 
with the footsteps of strangers. The beautiful par- 
lors and spacious ball-room, where youth and beauty 



264 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

mingled in the social dance, keeping time with lively 
strains of music, are now silent and deserted. 

When the war broke out Mrs. Lee followed the 
fortunes of her husband and went South, taking her 
jewels and valuable silver with her and leaving the 
house in charge of servants. It was immediately 
occupied by the Government, and the hills and fields 
around became one great camping ground. Being 
the property of a minor, the estate could not be 
seized under the Confiscation Act, but the Govern- 
ment continued to hold it in default of payment of 
taxes. After the war ended this involved a lawsuit, 
which after pending several years was finally decided 
in favor of Mr. Lee. The latter has recently con- 
veyed the property to the Government for the sum 
of ^150,000, as he does not care to return to it in 
its changed condition. 

As is well known, the slopes around the mansion 
are now one vast graveyard, where are resting the 
remains of twelve thousand Union soldiers. I say 
twelve thousand, but beside the graves there is a 
handsome mausoleum in one part of the grounds, 
beneath which are gathered the bones of thousands 
more — bones collected from the various battle-fields, 
and so far beyond all chance of identification it was 



ENVIRONS. 



265 



impossible to decide whether they belonged to friend 
or foe. They are quietly resting together, and the 
monument is inscribed *' Unknown." 

The first grave made in the cemetery was for a 
young man who had enlisted under a fictitious name, 
and when death approached, refused to tell his at- 
tendants his real name or anything about his family, 
and requested that his tombstone be simply marked 
^'Mustered out!' 

Along the walks by the graves have been erected 
a number of iron tablets, upon which are inscribed 
in white letters quotations from the touchingly beau- 
tiful poem of Colonel Theodore O'Hara, written for 
and delivered upon the occasion of the re-interment 
at Frankfort of the Kentucky soldiers who fell in the 
battle of Buena Vista. 

A strange coincidence, that the words of a dead 
Southerner, written for the funeral ceremonies of 
Southern soldiers, should have been selected to ex- 
press the sentiments of the Northern survivors of the 
late struggle over the sad fate of their comrades ! 

The following are some of the quotations : — 

"On Fame's eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread; 
And glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead." 
18 



266 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

"Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead. 
Dear as the blood ye gave; 
No impious footstep here shall tread 
The herbage of your grave." 

"No rumor of the foe's advance 

Now swells upon the wind ; 
"* No troubled thought at midnight haunts 

Of loved ones left behind." 

«« The neighing troop, the flashing blade, 
The bugle's stirring blast; 
The charge, the dreadful cannonade, 
The din and shout are past." 

*' The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 
The soldier's last tattoo ; 
No more on life's parade shall meet 
That brave and fallen few." 

The tomb of Lieutenant John R. Meigs, son of 
Major-General Meigs, Quartermaster-General, now 
in the cemetery, is very interesting. This gallant 
young officer was killed by guerillas near Harrison- 
burg, Va., while making a military survey in his 
capacity of Chief Engineer of the Army of the Shen- 
gindoah. 

The tomb consists of a pedestal of black marble 
upon which is laid, sculptured in bronze, the body of 
the young man in precisely the same position as 
found after death. The form is reduced in size, and 



ENVIRONS. 267 

represents him lying upon his back dressed in uni- 
form with overcoat on and thrown open. One hand 
is clasped upon his breast, the other hangs by the 
side, a pistol near it, apparently having fallen from it 
as his eyes closed in death. The ground around 
bears the impress of horses' hoofs. 

The tomb of Mr. Custis and wafe are also in the 
cemetery. 

There are a small number of Southern soldiers 
buried within the inclosure, and nothing shows more 
clearly the re-established fraternal feeling between 
the two sections than the fact that no difference is 
now made in the annual decoration of graves. 

*' From the silence of sorrowful hours 

The desolate mourners go, 
Lovingly laden with flowers 

Alike for the friend and the foe. 
Under the sod and the dew, 

"Waiting the judgment day; 
Under the roses, the Blue, 

Under the lilies, the Gray." 

While Upon the one hand the changes in the estate 
have been very sad, upon the other they have been 
beneficial. Under the care of the Government the 
place has been made to bud and blossom as the rose, 
and when I last visited it during the month of roses, 



268 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

was charming beyond description. The interior of 
the mansion is about the same as it has been for 
many years — silent and desolate! but the exterior 
and the grounds have been transformed into visions 
of beauty. Across the west end of the house a lux- 
uriant vine has climbed to the roof and the beautiful 
purple blossoms hang in great clusters. The small 
houses, near which were originally negro quarters, 
are completely covered with the Virginia creeper. 

After the Southern fashion, the vegetable garden 
occupies the space one side of the mansion and the 
flower garden the other. The latter has been in- 
closed by an arbor-vitae hedge, and laid out in beds 
and walks bordered with box-wood. The beds were 
brilliant with roses and other flowers. The grounds 
have been surrounded by a low brick wall and pro- 
vided with handsome gateways. 

The place possesses many natural beauties in the 
way of shady dells, grassy slopes, and picturesque 
ravines, which have been largely added to by the 
hand of art. 

The underbrush has been cut away from the lofty 
oaks and clumps of evergreens interspersed. 

The hill-sides have been terraced, and smoothly 
gravelled roads made to wind around them. Foun- 



ENVIRONS. 



269 



tains and vases and ornamental shrubbery have been 
added to the parterres of flowers near the house, and 
the turf is kept in exquisite order. Altogether, the 
property is very much changed and improved, and 
those who saw it only during the war period would 
scarcely recognize it now. 



Georgetown can hardly be classed with the envi- 
rons of Washington now, for it is a part of the city 
and known as West Washington, the names of the 
streets and numbers on the houses being merely a 
continuation of those of the city proper. 

The old town, though, is extremely interesting. 
The ancestral homes of many of the most prominent 
families of the District are located upon its ancient 
streets or upon the surrounding heights. 

It dates back to Colonial times, having been 
founded in 175 1, and was a place of considerable im- 
portance long before Washington was thought of as 
the site of the future Capital. At the close of the 
Revolutionary War, and for many years after, it was 
celebrated for its refined, cultivated society and the 
business enterprise of its citizens. 

In ''ye olden time" it was quite a gay place. 



270 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

There seems to have been a rage for building fine 
houses, and the style of living was luxurious. Every 
planter and man of wealth had his handsome coach 
horses and racers, and both gentlemen and ladies 
lived and dressed in fine old English style. Balls 
and dinners, cock fighting and horse racing were 
freely indulged in. After the seat of Government 
was removed to Washington many members of Con- 
gress made their homes in Georgetown, as the hotels 
and boarding-houses were much superior to those 
of the former place. A coach-and-four was used for 
transferring the distinguished legislators from their 
hotel to the Capitol. 

The first sale of Government building lots took 
place at Georgetown October 17, 1791, and was at- 
tended by a large number of purchasers from all 
parts of the country. 

The ''fall races" were as much a feature of George- 
town at the beginning of the century as they are of 
Washington now, and Congress was quite as willing 
to adjourn early in order to attend them as are the 
members of the present Congress. 

An Englishman by the name of Janson, travelling 
in America in 1803, upon his return to England 
wrote a book describing what he saw there, and 



ENVIRONS. 271 

among other things he says : " In November in each 
year there are horse races at the Capital of America. 
I happened to arrive just at this time, on horseback, 
at Georgetown, which is about two miles from the 
race-ground, and at an early hour proceeded to the 
turf. Though the day was raw, cold, and threatening 
to rain or snow, there were abundance of ladies dec- 
orated as if for a ball. In this year (1803) Congress 
was summoned early by President Jefferson upon 
tne contemplated purchase of Louisiana, and to pass 
a bill in order to facilitate his election again as Presi- 
dent. Many scores of American legislators, who are 
all allowed six dollars a day, besides their travelling 
expenses, went on foot from the Capitol, above four 
English miles, to attend the sport; nay, it is an 
indisputable fact that the houses of Congress ad- 
journed at a very early hour to indulge the members 
for this purpose. It rained during the course, and 
thus the law- makers of the country were driven into 
the booths, and thereby compelled to eat and pay 
for what was there called a dinner, while their con- 
templated meal remained untouched at their respect- 
ive boarding-houses. Economy is the order of the 
day in the Jeffersonian administration of that coun- 



2/2 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

try, and the members pretend to avail themselves of 
it even in their personal expenses," - 

In 1800 the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was 
completed around the Great and Little Falls, and the 
business of the town was very important. The Poto- 
mac River was navigable at that time for large ships 
and other vessels, and as late as the year 1820 eight 
ships, thirteen brigs, and nine schooners cleared 
from the port for foreign ports. Large quantities of 
tobacco were shipped to the West Indies and othv-r 
countries ; and the traffic in grain was very brisk. 

The foundation of the princely fortune afterwards 
gained by the philanthropist, George Peabody, was 
laid in Georgetown, and in recognition of his suc- 
cess in business there he endowed a library which 
bears his name. 

Georgetown College is the oldest Roman Catholic 
institution of learning in the country, and dates back 
to 1789. It is situated upon a high hill, the last in 
the range inclosing the amphitheatre in which the 
city of Washington is located, and commands a 
magnificent view of the river and surrounding coun- 
try. In the rear of the building the rugged country, 
lofty oaks, and thick undergrowth, present all the 
• beauty and wildness of a forest scene, while in front 



ENVIRONS. 



273 



is all the hurry and bustle of a large city. On the 
south side the Potomac emerges from its narrow 
channel and threads its way around pretty islands, 
grassy slopes, and wooded bluffs on its hurried jour- 
ney seaward. In the distance the fertile fields of 
Maryland and Virginia stretch out for many miles. 
The College was founded by John Carroll, afterwards 
Archbishop of Baltimore, and a cousin of Charles 
Carroll of Carrollton. He was born at Upper Marl- 
boro', Prince George's County, Md. 

P'ather Carroll took his final vows as Professed 
Father of the Society of Jesus in 1771, and on the 
suppression of the Order in 1773, was obliged to fly 
to England, but returned shortly after to Maryland 
and resided on Rock Creek, a few miles from 
Georgetown. 

It had long been his wish to establish an academy 
in Maryland, and in the year 1789, in spite of many 
embarrassments, his efforts were crowned with 
success. 

The old estates of the Jesuits in Maryland still 
remained in their possession after the suppression of 
the Society, and from the revenues of these or from 
sales of lands, the College was mainly built before 
the Society was restored. 



274 



NOTES ON WASHINGTON, 



It was the beauty of the situation which led him 
to select the present site, and not its proximity to 
the Capital, for at that time it had not been decided 
where the Capital should be permanently located. 
The first building is still standing, and forms a part 
of the south row. The north building was com- 
menced in 1794, but, from want of funds, not com- 
pleted till 1808. 

At the time of the destruction of the Capitol by 
the British after the battle of Bladensburg, the Gov- 
ernment decided to take this building for the conve- 
nience of Congress, as it was the largest in the 
vicinity ; but the speedy erection of another Capitol 
obviated the necessity for doing so. 

Upon the occasion of one of General Washing- 
ton's visits to the College in 1797, he was received 
with a poetical address by Robert Walsh, then six- 
teen years old, afterwards United States Consul to 
Paris. 

According to tradition, Washington rode up unat- 
tended, hitched his horse to the palings, and was 
warmly received by Professor Matthews, who subse- 
quently became President of the College. Since 
then the Presidents have been in the habit of attend- 



ENVIRONS. 



275 



ing the Commencement exercises, and usually award 
the diplomas and medals. 

The first student at the academy cut his name — • 
William Gaston — upon a window pane, where it still 
remains. He afterward became the eminent jurist 
and statesman of North Carolina, and, strange to 
say, a son of his granddaughter is a pupil at the 
College at the present time. 

The late war had a very blighting effect upon the 
prosperity of the institution, and although never en- 
tirely closed during that time, the attendance dwin- 
dled down from three hundred students to a mere 
handful, and has never since been up to the former 
standard. 

When the news reached Georgetown of the bom- 
bardment of Fort Sumter and the call of President 
Lincoln for troops, the students, like many mature 
citizens, were seized with a panic and hurried off to 
their respective homes, leaving scarcely one hundred 
at the college. A part of the building was then 
taken for barracks for the soldiers pouring into 
Washington day and night. On Saturday the 4th 
of May, 1 86 1, the Sixty-ninth New York Regiment 
marched into the grounds and occupied the south 



2/6 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

building — the professors and students taking quar- 
ters in the infirmary. 

This regiment remained several weeks and then 
passed over into Virginia. 

The Seventy-ninth New York, a Scotch regiment, 
then took possession and remained until the 4th of 
July. The scholastic exercises were kept up, during 
the occupation of the building by the soldiers, not- 
withstanding the fact that it was necessary to give 
the watchword to pass from one part of the house 
to another. 

After the second battle of Bull Run, in 1862, which 
occurred about thirty miles west of the college, it 
was turned into a hospital and everj^thing unsettled 
for another year. The school, however, was con- 
tinued, and after hospitals were erected in different 
parts of the city the soldiers evacuated the college 
and it passed from under military control. 

The building has been added to lately by the ad- 
dition of a handsome new front, commenced in 1871 
and now nearly completed. It is 312 feet long. The 
walls are built solidly of blue gneiss rock from the 
upper Potomac, with bluish-gray Ohio freestone and 
North River blue-stone for the cut work. Every 
convenience in the way of heating, lighting, and 



ENVIRONS. 277 

water has been added, and the structure is spacious 
and substantial. 

The college has a very fine library, embracing up- 
wards of 30,000 volumes, and among them som.e 
very curious and costly books. There are two vol- 
umes of the Odes of Horace printed from copper 
plates, which are very elaborately illustrated, and are 
claimed to have cost ;^ 18,000, 

Among the ancient books is a law book printed in 
1483, a Roman Missal of 1630, a Latin Bible of 1479, 
and said to be the oldest book in the country, an 
illuminated manuscript copy of the " Epistles of St, 
Paul," Book of Psalms of 1 586, a book written in Hin- 
dostanee, and one in Irish, Also a very small Ma- 
hometan Prayer-book, taken by Decatur from a 
soldier at Tripoli, 

A large oval table, in the centre of the room, was 
once the property of Lord Baltimore, and presented 
to the college in 1875. 

On the heights of Georgetown are many old and 
aristocratic mansions, surrounded with fine grounds 
filled with choice flowers and shrubbery, indicating 
a refined and cultivated taste on the part of their 
respective owners. 



2/8 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

1* 

One of the most interesting of these is "Tudor 
Place," owned and occupied at present by a niece of 
G. W. P. Custis. The house was built in 1 812, and 
is very large and attractive. The first floor is so 
arranged that the rooms can be thrown into one 
grand saloon by means of sliding doors. The front 
windows command a magnificent view of the city 
and distant hills. The grounds are quite extensive 
and well shaded by large forest trees. The walks 
are bordered with hedges of box-wood, so old and 
thick that they measure nearly a yard across the top. 

On the northern slope of the heights is Oak Hill 
Cemetery, remarkable for the natural beauty of the 
spot, what has been done by the hand of art, and for 
the number of distinguished persons buried there. 
The hillside has been terraced down to the ver)' 
edge of Rock Creek, which winds around the base, 
and the water making a small fall quite near sounds 
like soft, sad music in the air. The cemetery, orig- 
inally but ten acres in extent, was the gift of W. W. 
Corcoran, Esq., whose wife and daughter are resting 
there beneath a very elegant white marble mauso- 
leum. 

Chief Justice Chase is buried there, also Secretary 
Stanton, General Reno, Commodore Morris, and 



ENVIRONS. 279 

other public men; and it is now the final resting 
place of John Howard Payne, where beneath an ele- 
gant monument his remains have found a " Home," 
after a slumber of more than thirty years in the Prot- 
estant Cemetery of St. George, at Tunis. Bringing 
his remains back to his native land and having them 
reburied beneath the grand old oaks he once loved 
so well, is another instance of the noble generosity 
of Mr. Corcoran. 

Mr .•Corcoran knew and admired Mr. Payne at the 
time he was residing in Washington, and when he 
died in a foreign land, cherished a hope he might 
one day bring back his remains; but many more 
important matters occupied his mind and hands dur- 
ing the intervening, years and the wish was not car- 
ried out. Strange to say, one day, during the year 
1882, upon hearing the notes of the wonderful song 
— which has given Mr. Payne a name destined to 
live as long as the English language shall be spoken 
— his heart was touched by the plaintive strain as it 
had never been before, and the wish assumed defi- 
nite shape, and he decided to begin at once the first 
move in the matter, viz : a correspondence with the 
State Department. 

There was much delay and much red tape to be 



280 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

disposed of before the final arrangements for the re- 
moval and reburial could be made; but Mr. Corcoran 
spared neither pains nor expense to make the obse- 
quies solemn and impressive. 

I had the pleasure of witnessing the scene, and it 
was both beautiful and interesting. The ceremonies 
were attended with considerable pomp, and it was a 
rare privilege to see the group of distinguished men 
participating. President Arthur and his Cabinet, 
General Hancock, General Sherman, Justic? Mat- 
thews, ex-Justice Strong, Bishop Pinckney, Professor 
Welling, and members of the Diplomatic Corps, 
joined the procession, which entered the cemetery 
preceded by the Marine Band, playing in a low key, 
"Home, Sweet Home." 

Suitable religious forms were then observed, and 
afterward a poem and an interesting oration deliv- 
ered, followed by a hymn sung by one hundred 
voices. 

About one mile from Georgetown, on the Ten- 
nallytown Road, stands a very old mansion w^hich has 
borne the storms and sunshine of nearly one hundred 
years. It is located upon the brow of a hill, and 
from the porch one gets a fine view of the city of 



ENVIRONS. 281 

Washington, which hes in the valley away off below. 
Wonderful changes have taken place in the valley 
since the corner-stone of the old house was laid, of 
which it has been a silent witness, and the place 
forms an interesting link between the past and the 
present. It was built about the year 1786 by Gen- 
eral Uriah Forrest, and there is a tradition in the 
family that General Washington selected the site. 
A very good selection he made, too. 

The plantation was originally very large, and ex- 
tended from Pierce's Mill to Georgetown. General 
Forrest was a distinguished officer in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and married a beautiful Maryland lady. 
Judge Philip Barton Key, the uncle of Francis Scott 
Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner," married 
a sister of Mrs. Forrest, and the two families so 
closely connected by marriage became neighbors — 
Judge Key purchasing a portion of the land and es- 
tablishing a handsome home near by. 

This old- homestead — interesting as it is on ac- 
count of its great age and being associated with so 
many distinguished persons — has had a new interest 
lent to it of late years by reason of the romantic and 
extraordinary experiences of a granddaughter of 
General P'orrest. 
19 



282 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

This lady was born and reared in the old home 
and has frequently returned to it for shelter and com- 
fort when weighed down by the strange and perplex- 
ing trials which have surrounded her. 

The story of her life reads more like romance 
than real life, and the history of several noted indi- 
viduals is closely linked with hers. 

About the year 1 860, or maybe a little later, there 
was attached to the Mexican Legation at Washing- 
ton, in the capacity of secretary, a very accomplished 
Mexican gentleman. He became a frequent visitor 
at "Rosedale," and in course of time fell very much 
in love with Miss Alice Green, the young lady re- 
ferred to. He offered her his hand, and as she 
reciprocated his affection, they were in a short 
time married. The gentleman was Don Angel de 
Iturbide, a son of the ill-fated Emperor of Mexico, 
Don Augustin the First. 

The history of that sovereign is very sad. After 
being deprived of his throne by his enemies he was 
banished from the country and with him his family 
also. The family remained in England for a number 
of years, and it was while living there that young 
Iturbide acquired a knowledge of the English lan- 
guage which fitted him for the position he afterwards 
held at Washington. 



ENVIRONS. 283 

A son was born to the couple and the happiness 
of the young mother seemed complete. About the 
year 1864, and while the civil war still raged in the 
United States, Maximilian, of Austria, as is well 
known, attempted, with the aid of Napoleon, to es- 
tablish himself upon the throne of Mexico. How 
well he succeeded in doing so is now a matter of 
history. 

The Mexicans did not receive him very heartily, 
and his hold upon the people was always vague and 
uncertain. He was anxious to make himself accept- 
able to them, and also to conciliate the Iturbides, 
whom he found were still very dear to a large num- 
ber, and Carlotta, his wife, was constantly urging 
him to make use of every means within his reach to 
win their confidence and regard. 

Having learned of the young son of Don Angel, 
and having no children of his own, he conceived the 
idea of adopting the child as his heir to the throne, 
and accordingly sent for the parents. 

He made the proposal to them, and promised that 
he would provide for the education of young Don 
Augustin, and would rear him as his own child. 
As a further inducement to the parents, a liberal 



284 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

pension was to be secured to all the older members 
of the Iturbide family. 

The mother, dazzled by the brilliant prospects held 
out to her child, and no doubt ambitious to be the 
mother of an emperor, in a moment of weakness 
yielded, and gave her consent to the arrangement, 
and the child was given up to Maximilian. A paper 
was then drawn and duly signed by all the adult 
Iturbides at the time in Mexico. 

As soon as the Emperor obtained possession of 
this paper, he notified the parents that they were ex- 
pected to quit Mexico immediately, and they pre- 
pared to leave the country. Arriving at Pueblo, on 
the journey, the mother for the first time realizing 
what she had done became almost frantic from grief, 
and in her despair determined at all hazards to return 
to the capital and take back her child. 

She retraced her steps to the City of Mexico, and 
upon arriving sought the house of a friend. The 
next morning she wrote to Maximilian, told him 
what she was suffering, and implored him to restore 
to her her child. He did not reply, but sent a mes- 
sage leading her to believe an interview would be 
granted her the following day. 

At an early hour the next morning an officer 



ENVIRONS. 285 

called with a message from their Majesties, request- 
ing her to come to the Palace to talk the matter 
over. She dressed herself very carefully for the ex- 
pected interview, and, after the custom of ladies in 
that country, threw over her head and shoulders a 
black lace mantilla. Descending to the door, she 
found one of the imperial carriages waiting, and with 
a troubled heart took her seat. 

Instead of being driven directly to the Palace, she 
soon found she was being whirled rapidly through 
the streets to the edge of the city. She remon- 
strated \<^ith the officer, but it had no effect, and on 
the outskirts of the city was taken by force from the 
carriage, thrust into a diligence, and, under the 
charge of another officer, driven for two days and 
one night back to Puebla. 

The rain poured down incessantly during the jour- 
ney, and she had no other protection for her head 
from the dampness and cold than the lace mantilla. 
The family were then ordered to leave Mexico by 
the next steamer. 

Upon arriving in Washington Mrs. Iturbide 
sought the aid of Secretary Seward in regaining 
possession of her child, but Mr. Seward declined to 
interfere in such a delicate matter. 



286 NOTES ON WASHINGTON 

She then sailed for France, and went directly to 
Paris to seek an interview with Louis Napoleon, and 
to ask him to intercede for her with the Emperor of 
Mexico. But he also declined to interfere, and there 
was nothing more left her but to calmly await the 
progress of events. 

Maximilian's star of popularity, never very bright, 
now began to grow dim, and at times threatened to 
become lost to view entirely. Soon after the unhappy 
mother arrived in Paris searching for some one to 
help her recover her lost treasure, the unhappy wife 
of the Emperor also appeared, seeking aid to restore 
the waning fortunes of her husband. 

Mrs. Iturbide at once sought an interview with 
her, and although painful and rather unsatisfactory, 
it was not altogether fruitless, and she succeeded in 
making some slight impression upon the womanly 
heart of the Empress. Without giving any definite 
promise to restore the child, she directed the mother 
to address a note to the Emperor, advised her what 
to say to him, and what means to make use of to 
have the note reach him. 

This note may have had the desired effect, or 
Maximilian may have found the boy could be of no 
further use to him, or the storm which had been 



ENVIRONS. 287 

gathering for many months had already burst upon 
him ; at any rate, he decided to restore him to his 
parents. 

The mother was directed to go to Havana to meet 
him, and finally, after a separation of more than two 
years, had the joy of clasping him in her arms once 
more. 

Don Augustin is now a man. He has been care- 
fully educated in the best schools and colleges of this 
country and Europe. His father died about ten 
years ago, and the mother and son are at present 
enjoying each other's society at the old homestead 
where she spent the years of her girlhood. 

Emperors may come and emperors may go, but 
she does not care for them, for she has learned from 
bitter experience that the possession and love of her 
child is worth more to a true mother's heart than 
the prospective crowns of all Christendom. 

Spent the morning at Bladensburg. It is very 
strange, but if one happens to drop a hint about a 
contemplated visit to this old town, they may be 
sure of seeing a derisive smile upon the face of the 
hearer, usually followed by all sorts of ironical sug- 
gestions. Why it is so is not apparent. It is a pretty 



288 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

little town nestled among the hills, rather old-fash- 
ioned, I admit, and rather quiet and sleepy; but 
these are the very things which make it attractive ; 
and apart from the natural beauties, has so many 
delightful old houses, historical memories, and inte- 
resting stories, that a visit is thoroughly enjoyable. 

The town was settled about 1750, and took its 
name from Thomas Bladen, brother-in-law of 5th 
Lord Baltimore and Governor of Maryland in 1742. 

The land originally belonged to the Calvert estate, 
which at that time was called Yarrow, and sixty 
acres were deeded to the town. It was a place of 
considerable importance in the latter part of the last 
century. At that time Washington was of no con- 
sequence whatever, and Bladensburg and George- 
town had all the trade of the surrounding country. 
The land was very productive, and large quantities 
of grain and tobacco were raised and sold. 

The E^ifern Branch, upon which the town is situ- 
ated, at the head of tidewater, was a very different 
stream some years ago from what it is at present ; 
large sloops and schooners ascended as far as Bla- 
densburg and took in and discharged their cargoes 
at the wharves. There were several large ware- 
houses in the town, and the merchants were busily 



ENVIRONS. 289 

engaged buying and selling tobacco and other com- 
•hiodities. As late as the year 1832 the schooner 
" Red Rover" left the port laden with ninety hogs- 
heads of tobacco ; at Alexandria and Georgetown 
the cargoes were usually transferred to ships, and 
from there taken to foreign countries. In this way 
a brisk trade was opened with Scotland and other 
countries, and the wonderful stories of the product- 
iveness of this part of America induced many of the 
Scotch to come over and settle there. 

The former name of the Eastern Branch was An- 
acostia, from a tribe of Indians, whose wigwams 
were at one time scattered along its banks. There 
is something very singular about the filling up of 
the stream ; to see it now, one can scarcely imagine 
any boat larger than a canoe had ever ascended it ; 
at some points it is so narrow, one might easily leap 
across, and in some places so shallow that it is 
nothing more than a sparkling brook rushing mer- 
rily over a pebbly bed. 

Bladensburg was at one time quite a fashionable 
place ; the celebrated Spa Spring attracting many 
persons to it. The belles and beaux from the sur- 
rounding country often met in the ball-room to 



290 NOTES ON WASHINGTON, 

Spend the evening in the mazy dance and enjoy flir- 
tations beneath the soft Hght of the silvery moon. 

Before the days of railroads it was a post-town, 
and the old inn, so popular as a stopping- place at 
that time, is still standing. One can fancy the 
scenes to be witnessed daily upon that long porch, 
where planters, merchants, politicians, and here and 
there an African face were awaiting the arrival of 
the stage, and the pompous Jehus, with a blast from 
the bugle and crack of the whip, gracefully handling 
the ribbons, would dash up in grand style to the 
door. 

The event of August 24, 1 8 14, made the place 
historical, and the disastrous defeat of the Ameri- 
cans that day left the Capital at the mercy of the 
enemy. 

I talked with the oldest inhabitant, who pointed 
out the exact spot where the battle was fought, the 
abutments of the old bridge over which the British 
crossed into the town, the house used by them as a 
hospital, the chimney in which a cannon-ball is em- 
bedded, and many other interesting things. 

There are a number of the original houses still 
standing ; their sloping roofs, tiny windows, and 



ENVIRONS. 



291 



huge brass knockers upon the front door, giving 
evidence of their great age. 

On Sand Street there is an old brick house into 
which Sir WiUiam Wood was carried, severely 
wounded, the day of the battle. Near by is the de- 
cayed stump of a large tree, all that is left of a 
graceful willow, under the shade of which he was 
wont to sit during his convalescence. He became so 
much attached to the tree, that upon his return to 
England he carried a twig with him to plant near his 
own home, but found American roots planted in 
English soil did not flourish as well as English roots 
planted upon American soil, for it did not grow. 
For many years after that time, whenever any of his 
countrymen visited Washington, they always made 
a pilgrimage to Bladensburg for the purpose of 
looking upon the old battle-ground and visiting the 
houses where their wounded had been cared for. 
They too cut twigs from the old tree, and finally the 
weight of years bowed its head to the ground. 

Sir William returned to America some years after 
the war, and spent a week at " Blenheim," the 
charming country residence of Mr. L. This fine 
old mansion dates back to 1800, and is situated 
about half a mile from the town. It is surrounded 



292 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

by a beautiful lawn shaded by towering oaks, a part 
of the primeval forest. 

There was a duel fought many years ago, directly 
opposite the house, between Mr. Gardiner and Mr. 
Campbell, and the latter falling wounded, was car- 
ried into the mansion and carefully nursed. 

Another fine mansion in the vicinity is '' Cloud- 
land," which is supposed to have been built by a 
Scotch merchant named Dick, as he occupied the 
house for many years. An iron plate in the fire- 
place of the reception room bears the date 1769. 
The view from the portico is particularly fine, and 
there are a number of interesting reminiscences con- 
nected with the homestead. Captain Hunter, of the 
United States Navy, lived there at the beginning of 
the late w^ar. He resigned his position to take up 
the Southern cause, leaving his beautiful home and 
many rare and valuable articles collected while an 
officer in the Navy — among them the first United 
States flag planted upon the soil of Japan. A cap- 
tain in the Union Army occupied the house for a 
time after he left it, and this flag was kept flying 
every day before the front door. 

There is an interesting old graveyard about a 
mile from the town, which contains a number of 



ENVIRONS. 293 

very old graves, and soldiers of three wars are buried 
there. The first duel ever fought in the vicinity of 
Bladensburg was fought in this old graveyard. 

The water of the famous spring near the turnpike 
is cool and delicious, and possesses great medicinal 
properties. 

During the late war, when the country around the 
town was one great military camp, the soldiers, al- 
ways on the lookout for good water, having once 
tasted of this spring, would not be satisfied with any 
other. It is said they would come several miles for 
it, bringing large barrels and wagons in which to 
carry it back to camp. 

The notoriety given to Bladensburg by the duels 
fought near it, is the least interesting feature of the 
place. Too many valuable lives have been sacrificed, 
too many loving hearts made to ache in consequence 
of an erroneous interpretation of *'the code," for one 
to derive any pleasure from dwelling upon the his- 
tory of them. It is a satisfaction to know that more 
than thirty years have passed since there was a so- 
called "affair of honor" in its neighborhood. 



XXVIII. 



MOUNT VERNON. 



TN 1759 the Reverend Andrew Burnaby visited 
■*- Mount Vernon, and wrote the following descrip- 
tion of it: "This place is the property of Colonel 
Washington, and truly deserving of its owner. The 
house is most beautifully situated upon a very high 
hill on the banks of the Potomac, and commands a 
noble prospect of water, of cliffs, of woods, and -plan- 
tations. The river is near two miles broad, though 
two hundred from the mouth ; and divides the do- 
minions of Virginia from Maryland." 

One hundred and twenty-three years have passed 
away since that -visit, and the mansion still stands 
upon a high hill, "and commands a noble prospect 
of water, of cliffs, and of woods," and is to-day un- 
doubtedly the most interesting spot in the United 
States of America. 

It is reached by boat from Washington, and from 



MOUNT VERNON. 



295 



the moment of leaving the wharf in the morning, 
until the hour the boat returns in the afternoon, the 
trip is one of peculiar pleasure. The scenes and in- 
cidents of three wars have made the country along 
the shore upon either side of the river deeply inter- 
esting, and the very name of the river rarely fails to 
send a thrill through the heart of those who, twenty 
years ago, had loved ones encamped along its banks 
awaiting the order to go forward to battle. 

The distance is only sixteen miles, but the sail 
occupies about one hour and a half, as there are sev- 
eral stopping places before reaching the landing. 

The approach to the landing is made known by 
the tolling of the bell — a courtesy never omitted by 
any boat upon the river — and the Superintendent 
stands ready at the wharf to receive and to entertain 
visitors. He leads the way to the tomb and man- 
sion, and points out and explains all objects of in- 
terest. 

The estate originally comprised several thousand 
acres, but at the present time there are only two 
hundred attached to the mansion; this was pur- 
chased in 1858 by the women of America, and in 
i860 the association was incorporated under the 
title of " Ladies' Mount Vernon Association." The 



296 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

place was very much out of repair when they pur- 
chased it, and Congress voted them a few thousand 
dollars to make the repairs necessary for its preserva- 
tion. The ladies struggled manfully to free it from 
debt, but up to the beginning of the Centennial year 
had not succeeded in doing so. The many thousands 
of tourists, of that eventful year, who visited Phila- 
delphia, extended their trip to the Capital, or at least 
a large proportion did, and before the close of the 
year Mount Vernon was free from debt. One dollar 
is charged for the round trip, one-half of which goes 
to the Association and the other half to the boat. 

The mansion, that is the central part, was built by 
Lawrence Washington, a half brother of General 
Washington, and named in honor of Admiral Ver- 
non, under whom he had served in the West Indies. 
Lawrence was older than George and suffered for a 
long time from ill health. His brother was his con- 
stant companion and attendant, and devoted much 
time to him, and in return for this care Lawrence 
left him the estate. 

After Colonel Washington married the beautiful^ 
and charming Mrs. Custis, he added wings to the 
mansion and erected stables, smoke-house, kitchen, 
and laundry. He also improved the grounds, and 



MOUNT VERNON, 29/ 

laid out a large garden in beds and walks, and bor- 
dered them with neat box-wood hedges after the 
fashion of the time. 

The mansion, although constructed of wood, is 
quite imposing and the situation one of great beauty. 
There is a wide hall-way and several spacious rooms 
upon the first floor. In the hall, secured in a small 
glass case against the wall, is the iron key of the 
famous Bastile, presented to Washington by Lafay- 
ette. It remains precisely where it was first placed 
by the illustrious recipient. 

The rooms of the first floor are the dining-room, 
library, east and west parlors, and State dining-room. 

Nearly all contain interesting relics and articles of 
furniture once used by the family, which have been 
gathered piece by piece at different times. 

The furniture, camp-equipage, arms, and pictures 
are particularly interesting; but I must confess I 
never had any fancy for looking at old clothes and 
other articles once worn by distingiiished persons. 
Locks of hair, half-worn slippers, bits of jewelry, and 
such things should be reserved for the sight of those 
to whom the wearer was bound by ties of affection 
and blood, and not be laid open to the gaze of the 
curious multitude. 
20 



2q8 notes on WASHINGTON. 

Rembrandt Peak's picture of Washington before 
Yorktown is in the State dining-room, also a model of 
the Bastile, made from a piece of the fortress, a chair 
brought over in the '* Mayflower," and many other 
things. The Superintendent says that more than 
30,000 persons have sat down in this chair. 

The mantel of this room is of fine white marble 
carved in Italy. The vessel conveying it to this 
country was seized upon the high seas by a French 
ship-of-war and the cargo taken possession of; but 
as soon as the commanding officer learned this man- 
tel belonged to Washington he immediately returned 
it to him. 

Upon the second floor the rooms are quite small, 
and hardly in keeping with the spacious dimensions 
of those of the first. 

The room Lafayette occupied when a guest at 
Mount Vernon still contains the dressing-table and 
glass used by him when he made his last visit. 

The room in which Washington died is very small, 
and has but one window. The bedstead is the very 
same upon which he breathed his last. It was re- 
turned by Mrs. Lee a year or two ago. 

Still higher up is the small attic room to which 
Lady Washington retired after the death of her hus- 



MOUNT VERNON. 299 

band, and which she rarely ever left during the re- 
mainder of her life. It is apparently the worst in 
the house, and was selected because she could see 
from the window the tomb of him who was dearer 
to her than life, and she spent much of her time in 
gazing out upon it. In the door of the room is a 
small hole — cut to allow a favorite cat to pass in and 
out. 

Mrs. Washington was a model wife and a famous 
housekeeper, and did not disdain to enter her kitchen 
and prepare with her own hands dainty dishes of all 
kinds. Her wines, cordials, and jellies were cele- 
brated in the neighborhood, and one of her pleasures 
was to send such things around as gifts to her sick 
friends and neighbors. The roomy old kitchen, 
with its immense fireplace, is still standing, and one 
delights to go back in fancy and picture the scenes 
of that time when the dignified mistress graced it 
with her presence and directed the servants in pre- 
paring those tempting dinners and charming suppers 
for which the mansion was so famous. One of the 
prettiest word pictures we have of this notable house- 
wife in her own home, was drawn by a guest after 
partaking of her hospitality one evening. He says: 
" The table of dark mahogany, waxed and polished 



300 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

like a mirror, was square. In the centre stood a 
branched epergne of silver wire and cut glass, filled 
with a tasteful arrangement of apples, pears, plums, 
peaches, and grapes. At one end Mrs. Washington, 
looking as handsome as ever, assisted by a young^ 
lady, presided behind a handsome silver tea-service. 
There was an enormous silver hot-water urn nearly 
two feet high, and a whole battalion of tiny flaring 
cups and saucers of blue India china. The silver, 
pohshed to its highest, reflected the blaze of many 
wax candles in branched candelabras and in sticks 
of silver. Fried oysters, waffles, fried chicken, cold 
turkey, canvas-backed ducks, venison, and that 
Southern institution, a 'baked ham,' were among 
the good things provided for the company of gen- 
tlemen invited by the President to sup with him. 
Lady Washington dispensed the tea with so much 
grace that each gentleman was constrained to take 
it, although capital Madeira was served in elegant 
decanters." 

The master of the house was a successful farmer, 
and as much interested in his experiments as his wife 
was in her department. He took great pride in his 
estate, and devoted much time to improving and 



MOUNT VERNON. 



301 



beautifying it. I believe there are several trees now 
standing planted by his own hand. 

Across the river front of the mansion is a high, 
old-fashioned porch supported by square, wooden 
pillars. The floor of this porch is paved with large 
stone flags brought originally from the Isle of Wight. 
They are here and there worn into deep ridges by 
the tread of many feet, for every day brings some 
one to this interesting spot. 

Republican and Democrat, citizen and soldier, 
tourists from foreign lands, members of the Diplo- 
matic Corps, all come to this Mecca of America, 
where the gentle breezes from Virginia's hills make 
soft music in the branches of the pines and oaks, 
where the calm, silvery Potomac flows lazily around 
the grassy slopes, giving beauty and life to the quiet 
scene. 

One feels inclined to moralize while standing be- 
side the tomb, yet, after all, the occupants sleeping 
there so quietly are much better ofl" than are many 
of the living. They have fought the battle of life, 
and have fought it successfully ; whereas, in a coun- 
try like ours, of such rapid changes and fleeting hon- 
ors, their fate might have been very different if the 
magician's wand could have imparted to them per- 



302 NOTES ON WASHINGTON. 

petual youth. Instead of being honored and revered, 
as their memory is to-day by all men, they might 
have become subjects of intrigue, indifference, and, 
possibly, scorn. 

During the late war the tomb was neutral ground, 
and it is said soldiers of both armies would leave their 
arms miles away and meet there as brothers. Only 
one act of desecration occurred during the time the 
war lasted, and was committed by a thoughtless sol- 
dier, who climbed in over the iron gate, cut off and 
carried away one claw of the marble eagle upon the 
mausoleum of Washington. It was not known at 
the time who committed the deed, but he afterwards 
boasted of it in New York, and thereby incurred 
more reproach than congratulations for performing 
such a feat. 

There was a story current for some time that the 
key to the gate of the tomb had been thrown into 
the river, so that it would be impossible for any one 
ever to open it again. 

Upon inquiry, I learned this was only a pretty 
legend prepared for the benefit of the credulous. 



INDEX 



A. 



Adventurers and lobbyists, 83 
Affairs of honor, 293 
Agricultural Department, 136 
Alexander, John, 257 

Gerard, 259 

Robert, 2^9 

Allegorical clock, 13 

Allen, Hon. E. H., death of, 130 

American ethnology, 185 

An historic scene, 28 

Architecture, 118 

Arlington Cemetery, 264 

. — House, 259 

sheep shearings, 261 

Arthur, President, 126 
Art-gallery, Corcoran, 67 
Ascension Church, 104 
Ashburton, Lord, 59 
Assassination of Garfield, 75 



304 



INDEX. 



B. 



Baltimore, Lord, 65 

and Ohio Railroad, 25 

Barlow, Joel, house of, 64 

Barron, Commodore, 58 

Battle of Bladensburg, 290 

Beale, Gen., house of, 59 

Benjamin, Judah P., 59 

Bey of Tunis, 150 

Bladensburg, 287 

Bonnes on Pennsylvania Avenue, 5 1 

Bronze doors in Capitol, 18 

staircase in Capitol, 19 

Bronzes, Smithsonian Institution, 193 
Bruce, Senator, story of, 41 
Building, Post-office, 167 
Burial of President Garfield, 78 
Burnaby, Rev. Andrew, 294 
Burns, David, 54, 105 



C. 



Calverts of Riversdale, 65 
Capitol, II 

cost of, 1 7 

Capron collection, 191 

Carroll, Father, 273 

Cash-room, Treasury Department, 173 



INDEX, 

Cemetery, Arlington, 264 

Congressional, 229 

, Oak Hill, 278 

Cenotaphs, Congressional Cemetery, 232 

Cereals, 139 

Charity, 90 

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 272 

Children's Hospital, 90 

Chinese counterfeiters, 176 

Churches, 95 

Church, Ascension, 104 

Christ, 100 

Christian, 96 

Epiphany, 99 

First Presbyterian, 99 

Foundry, 103 

Metropohtan Methodist, 10 1 

St. Augustine, 108 

St. John's, 109 

St. Matthew's, 108 

St. Patrick's, 107 

Trinity, 98 

Church's picture of Niagara Falls, 69 
City, The, 9 
Cliques and sets, 82 
Commissioner of Agriculture, 137 
Congressional Cemetery, 229 

Record, printing, 203 

Corcoran, W. W., house of, 60 

Art-gallery, 67 

. Portrait of, 69 



305 



3o6 INDEX. 

Corday, Charlotte, picture of, 70 
Cotton, 140 
Counterfeit money, 175 
Counterfeiters, pictures of, 174 
Crawford, Secretary, house of, 61 
Curious addresses upon letters, 163 
Custis, G. W. P., 259 
. John Parke, 259 



D. 

Dead-letter Office, 156 
Decatur, death of, 58 

House, 57 

Decoration of graves at Arlington, 267 
Decoration of the White House, 121 
Declaration of Independence, 148 
Department of Agriculture, 136 

. Navy, 146 

Post-office, 153 

. State, 146 

Treasury, 169 

War, 146 

Departmental life, 31 
Destroying bank-notes, 176 
Diplomatic room, 149 
Distribution of seeds, 141 
Dome of Capitol, 17 

view from, 24 



Douglas, Frederick, 43 



INDEX. 307 



Duddington, 56 

Duel between Decatur and Barron, 57, 58 

between Gardiner and Campbell, 292 

Dusky Davi, 115 



E. 



Eastern Branch, 9, 288 
East room, White House, 122 
Electoral Commission, 28 
Environs, 256 
Equestrian statues, 209 
Experimental garden, 139 

Expenditures of Government Printing Office, 205, 206 
Post-office Department, 154 



Female clerks, 173 

lobbyists, 83 

Filibustering in Congress, 23 
Fire in Patent Office, 200 
Foreign letters, 157 
Foreigners at the Capital, 85 
Forrest, Gen. Uriah, 281 
Fountain, Bartholdi, 227 

Powers, 226 

Treasury, 226 

Freeman House, 59 



3o8 



INDEX. 



Frescoes in Capitol, 19 

Fulton, Robert, drawings of, 199 



G. 



Galleries of House and Senate, 12 
Garfield, President, assassination of, 75 

death of, 78 

Inauguration, 73 

illness of, 76, 77 

Georgetown, 269 

College, 272 

Gerry, Elbridge, grave of, 230 

Goose Creek, 115 

Government Printing Office, 202 

Grand Fountains, 112 

Grasshoppers and army worm, 144 

Greene, Gen,, statue of, 220 

Greenough's group on the blockings, 223 

statue of Washington, 210-220 

Growth of Money-order Office, 167 
Guiteau, execution of, 79 
trial of, 78 



H. 



Hawaiian Minister, death of, 130 
Hayes, Mrs., 45 
reception of, 45 



INDEX. 



309 



Henry, Prof., statue of, 227 
Herold, grave of, 230 
Historic Column, in 
Historic Houses, 54 
Home, the Louise, 132 

Soldiers', 252 

Hospital, Children's, 90 
Hotel life, 88 

letters, 156 

Houdon's Washington, 219 
Howard University, 24 
Howson grant, 256 
Humor, Indian, 188 



I. 



Illness of President Garfield, 76 
Inauguration of Garfield, 73 
Indian pottery, 186 
Industrial arts, 189 
Insects, investigating habits of, 145 
Intrigue in social circles, 85 
Irish poet, lines of the, 114 
Iturbide, Don Augustin, 283 
Madame, 284 



J- 



Jackson, General, sword of, 150 
Japanese curiosities, National Museum, 191 
Jefferson, Thomas, 121 



310 INDEX. 

K. 

Kalorama, 64 

Keeping open house, 82 

Kelso spire, 102 

Key, Francis Scott, 99 

Philip Barton, death of, 60 



Lacquer and bronzes, Smithsonian Institution, 1 91-193 
Lady clerks, 2)Z 

Dead-Letter Office, 165 

Lafayette ft Mount Vernon, 297 

Lee, Robert E., 262 

Letters, curious addresses upon, 163 

handled by postal clerks, 155 

Liberty statue, iii 

Library, Agricultural Department, 139 

Georgetown College, 277 

Navy Department, 151 

Peabody, 272 

• . State Department, 147 

Life-Saving Service, 178 • 

Lighthouse Board, 178 

Lincoln, Abraham, house in which he died, 62 

Living in hotels and boarding-houses, effect of, 87 

Lobbyists, 83 

Louise Home, the, i 2 



INDEX. 3 1 1 



M. 



Macerating machine, 176 

Marble-room, Capitol, 20 

Mausoleum at Arlington, 264 

Maximilian and the Iturbides, 283-287 

Meigs, Lt. John R., tomb of, 266 

Merchandise in mails, 159 

Models in Patent Office, 196, 201 

Moore, Tom, lines of, 114 

Money-order Office, 165 

Monument of Payne, 279 

of Washington, 233 

history of Washington, 238-245 

laying corner-stone of Washington, 241 

memoriaf stones in Washington, 245 

Museum, Agricultural Department, 140 

National, 182 

Post-Office, 160 

Musical instruments, collection of, 189 



N. 



National Museum, 182 

Pantheon, 234 

Naval Column, 112 

Monument, 221 

Navy Department, 146 



312 



INDEX. 



Negroes, 36 

New-Year's reception at White House, 128 



O. 



Oak Hill Cemetery, 278 
Obelisks in trees, 115 
Octagon house, 62 
Office-seeker on streets, 52 
Old Capital Prison, 57 



P. 



Palatial residences, 118 

Panels showing trees of Japan, 193 , 

Parks and streets, no 

Patent Office, 195 

system, 197 

Pay-day at Government Printing Office, 205 

Payne, John Howard, 279 

Pennsylvania Avenue, 49 

Persico statues, 223, 225 

Philanthropy, 90 

Photographs in mails, 158 

Pictures in Corcoran Art Gallery, 70 

Plan of Washington, 113 

Porcelains in Smithsonian Institution, 192 

Portrait of Mrs. Corcoran, 135 

Postal money-order system, 165 

system, 154 



INDEX. 

Post-Ofifice Department, 153 

Potomac River, 9 

Pottery, Indian, 186 

Powers's Greek Slave, 71 

President Garfield, 73 

President's message, printing the, 207 

room in Capitol, 20 

Printing Office, Government, 202 

Public Printer, 207 

Push Ma-ta-ha, grave of, 231 



R. 

Races at Georgetown, 270 
Receptions and balls, 81 
Relics in State Department, 147 
Riversdale, Calverts of, 65 
Romantic meetings, 91 



S. 



Saint Augustine Church, 108 
Scene in House of Representatives, 28 
Screens in Smithsonian Museum, 192 
Secretary of the Treasury, 169 
Secret Service Division, 174 
Seeds, distribution of, 141 
Seward Mansion, 60 
Sheep-shearings, Arlington, 261 
21 



3^3 



314 



INDEX. 



Silk, cultivation of, 144 

Slave-pens, 41 

Slavery in District of Columbia, 42 

Society, 80 

Soldiers in Georgetown College, 275 

Home, 252 

Sorghum sugar, 144 

Southern bonds and notes, 176 

Spa-spring, Bladensburg, 289, 293 

Squares in morasses, 114 

State dinners at White House, 126 

• War, and Navy Departments, 146 

Statistics Dead-Letter Office, 156-159 
Statue of Liberty, 1 1 1 

Professor Henry, 220 

Jackson, 209 

Scott, 252 

Thomas, 209 

Washington, 210-220 

Statuary Hall, Capitol, 12 

in Corcoran Art Gallery, 71 

Street scenes, 49 
Streets and parks, no 
Sugar, sorghum, 144 
Supreme Court-room, 13 
Sword of General Jackson, 150 



T. 



Table, California redwood, 141 
Tablets in Arlington Cemetery, 26! 



INDEX. 

Tea, cultivation of, 141 

manufacture of, 142 

plantation, 143 

Tiber Creek, 115 

Toadyism, 87 

Tomb of Lieut. Meigs, 266 

of Washington, 301 

Treasurer's office, 171 
Treasury Department, 169 
Trees and shrubs in parks, 116 

of Japan, panels showing, 193 

Trial of Guiteau, 78 

Troops in Georgetown College, 275 

Tudor Place, 278 

Tunis, Bey of, 150 



3^5 



V. 



Van Ness Mansion, 55 



W. 

War Department, 146 
Washington Monument, 233 
Webster, Daniel, eloquence of, 14 

house of, 60 

Westward the course of empire, 1 1 7 

White House, 119 

Wirt, Wm., monument of, 230 



3i6 INDEX. 

Women as clerks, 172 

Wood, Sir William, 291 

Wood-carvings in Smithsonian Institution, 193 

Wool, examinations of, 140 

Worshippers of Mammon, 86 

Works of art, 209 



^'0 9 6 6® 



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;ii !!;!(! PH.TO 



^RARY OF CONGRESS 




014 440 702 7^ 




